Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has launched a “brutal swipe” at Manchester United over the club’s treatment of Alejandro Garnacho with the Serie A champions “leading the race” to sign the 20-year-old winger, according to a report.
A Wantaway Winger
United are “desperate to get rid” of Garnacho, according to the Daily Star, after his war of words with Ruben Amorim following the Europa League final defeat in May.
The Red Devils fell to a dismal 1-0 defeat to Premier League rival Tottenham Hotspur at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao.
Amorim decided to drop Garnacho for the season-defining clash in place of Mason Mount, despite the Argentina international starting every round prior to the final. When asked about this decision in an interview after the defeat, Amorim’s response was pointed.
“How many times have we had this conversation and it was the opposite? Some players come in, like Mason Mount, against Bilbao and changed the game. So now it is easy to say. Who missed the big opportunity in the first half against Bilbao? Yeah [Garnacho].
“Of course, now it is easy for us to talk about a lot of views. I just look at the game and try to manage things and improve the team and try to win games. I can see it both ways. I remember everything about the past so it is easy for me to respond to that question.”
Garnacho then added fuel to the fire with his own interview in response to his manager’s words, criticising Amorim’s decision and questioning his own future at Old Trafford.
“Obviously it’s hard for everyone. Our season was s–t. We didn’t beat anyone in the league. We lacked a lot of things. When you don’t score goals, you always need more. Until we reached the final, I played every round. And I played 20 minutes today – I don’t know. I’m going to try to enjoy the summer and see what happens next.”
A few days later, during a squad meeting, Amorim informed Garnacho he was welcome to leave United and that the winger better “pray” he finds a new club.
United are believed to value their winger at around £60 million but the Daily Star reveals they are “willing to accept less in order to see him leave Old Trafford.”
Interest from Naples
Napoli hold a long-standing interest in Garnacho after advances were made, and rejected, to sign him in the January transfer window. They have now reignited this pursuit with executives from both clubs “in talks…in the hope of striking a deal”.
There is also interest from Chelsea with Noni Madueke’s departure to Arsenal potentially creating a need for another winger at Stamford Bridge.
But Napoli appear to be at the front of the queue for the wantaway winger.
And De Laurentiis, the president at the Diego Armanda Maradona Stadium, believes Garnacho will “become twice the player” once he leaves the Red Devils, explicitly identifying United as the problem, not the Argentinian.
“Garnacho’s got pace, flair, potential… but that’s not even why we want him. We want him because he’s at United. Get him out, and he becomes twice the player. There’s a fault at United, I can’t explain,” the 76-year-old Italian businessman states.
The Daily Star reveals Napoli are “keen for Garnacho to link up” with Kevin De Bruyne after the Belgian swapped Manchester for Naples earlier this summer.
The move would also see a reunion with Scott McTominay, United’s former academy star turned Serie A superstar, after the Scotland international’s own move to Napoli last summer.
Garnacho is believed to prefer to remain in the Premier League. But, so far, there has been no tangible interest from an English side, with the Italian champions making the strongest move to secure the 20-year-old’s signature – and its their president who appears to be leading the charge.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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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.
