Sokratis Papastathopoulos has found himself thrown headfirst into the rumour mill over the past week or so. Napoli want to sign the Arsenal defender, and their president Aurelio De Laurentiis went as far as speaking about his club’s efforts publicly.
Notoriously difficult to work with, De Laurentiis has been travelling between a holiday home on Capri and his club’s Naples base as he looks to conclude both incomings and outgoings before the window closes.
There’s been claims of the Arsenal player already having some sort of agreement with Napoli, yet that doesn’t mean a thing if he can’t free himself from Arsenal. Suggestions of a free transfer have continually popped up, with the Italian media feeling that’s feasible, given the 32-yea-old’s contract expires in June 2021.
Should that be true then there’s not a lot holding the move back, and it’s thought the Arsenal player would sign a contract worth €3.5m a year (after tax) with Napoli.
