Somewhat crowded in midfield following the acquisitions of Stanislav Lobotka, Diego Demme and most recently Tiemoué Bakayoko on loan, one of them could make way in January.
According to Calciomercato.it, that could be the Slovakian, who would then make room for another arrival, much younger, in the form of Chelsea’s Billy Gilmour.
The Italian website explain the 19-year-old, who made his first appearance of the season since recovering from a knee injury in the 4-0 win over Sevilla on Wednesday, has been a long time target of the Serie A club, who have followed him since last season.
In fact, Calciomercato.it go as far as saying ‘intermediaries are at work for a possible arrival in January’.
Gilmour’s vision, stamina and technique are just a few of the reasons that have ‘prompted Cristiano Giuntoli, Napoli’s director of football, to begin to develop the idea that the boy can immediately add to the midfield available to Gattuso’.
It’s stated the idea would be to ‘test’ the youngster, meaning loaning him from Chelsea to see ‘if he fits’ the manager’s football and potentially trying to sign him for good.
That’s already being ‘studied’ in the Napoli offices, but first they would need to make room for him, which is why offloading Lobotka could be key.
The 26-year-old has ‘admirers in Spain and in Italy’, so it probably wouldn’t be too difficult.
Going back to Gilmour, Calciomercato.it finish by explaining ‘there is discussion of formulas using redemptions and buy-back clauses with intermediaries at work to soften the position, above all, of the English club’.
In short, Chelsea aren’t too keen about the idea of letting Gilmour go, but if they did, they’d want to make sure they’re both financially rewarded and given the option to bring him back down the line if they so wish to do so.
