Napoli are interested in signing Jadon Sancho, with Manchester United desperate to sell the 25-year-old winger this summer, but the Neapolitan club will face competition from a domestic rival, according to reports.
Gianluca Di Marzio, an Italian football expert, reveals the Serie A champions have made an “attempt” for Sancho after agreeing a deal to bring Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne to Naples.
Corriere dello Sport contends the club have now launched an “operation” to understand the “costs and feasibility” of signing the United star.
Too Costly for Chelsea
Sancho is set to return to Old Trafford this month after spending last season on loan at Chelsea. He has one year remaining on his deal, though the Reds retain the option to extend this by twelve months.
United agreed the temporary departure of the former Borussia Dortmund star to the Blues at the end of last summer’s transfer window. The loan included a buy obligation if Chelsea placed 15th or higher in the Premier League table, worth between £20-25 million.
Enzo Maresca’s side finished 4th, securing a return to the Champions League and triggering the £25 million obligation to sign Sancho permanently.
But Chelsea included a £5 million cancellation fee in the deal which they could pay to annul the deal, converting it into a straight loan move. And, after failed negotiations between Stamford Bridge executives and Sancho’s representatives over wages, Chelsea activated the penalty fee and the winger’s time in West London was brought to an end.
It constitutes a significant blow for United who believed they had finally rid themselves of a troublesome player who has never come close to living up to the expectation of the £73 million fee they forked out in 2021 to sign Sancho from Dortmund.
Sancho’s wage packet – believed to be in around £250,000 a week – inhibits the number of clubs in Europe who can afford to sign him as the 25-year-old will not take a pay cut.
There is interest from the Saudi Pro League where teams would have no qualms matching his salary, but it’s unclear whether Sancho would entertain a move to the Middle East at this stage of his career.
An Italian Renaissance
There are teams across the continent who have expressed interest, including another to Dortmund, but the Bundesliga side are unwilling to pay his wages in full.
But Italy may prove a solution for both United and Sancho with Fichajes contending “everything points to Serie A being the new stage for Jadon Sancho’s rebirth.”
The Spanish outlet reveals AC Milan and Napoli are both “determined” to sign Sancho and view him as a “key opportunity to strengthen their respective projects next season.”
“Both clubs are looking to revitalize their attacking side and believe Sancho can provide the balance and balance they lacked in certain stretches of last season. In Napoli, after a year marked by inconsistency and a change of coach, the goal is to build a more vertical attack, while Milan wants to add a different profile on the wing, combining speed, one-on-one play, and vision.”
This corroborates Di Marzio’s update on Napoli making advances to sign Sancho while The Peoples Person covered a report detailing Milan’s interest in the English winger.
Serie A offers a slower, more technical style of football compared to the fast-paced Premier League. This environment would lend itself to Sancho’s skillset in a way English football proved too difficult for the United star.
Whether Napoli or Milan would be willing to match Sancho’s wages or even pay a transfer fee for the 25-year-old remains to be seen. Old Trafford executives will undoubtedly be holding out hope for a switch to Saudi Arabia where suitors would have no issues with either.
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
