Over in Italy, the subject of Elia Caprile continues to be an important one, as the Bari goalkeeper, previously owned by Leeds United, has been excelling.
His performances in Serie B after leaving Elland Road in the summer for a rather small fee have caught the eye of a number of clubs, including a handful in Serie A.
Among those are Napoli, according to agent Mario Giuffredi, which could be a problem for Leeds, as they are set to receive 50% of a future transfer.
The reason we say this is that Bari are owned by Luigi De Laurentiis, who so happens to be the son of Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis.
The information comes from the aforementioned Giuffredi, who spoke to Radio Marte about some of the potential moves the Serie A side will make on the transfer market.
He said, relayed by Tifosi Palermo: “The sporting director of Napoli, [Cristiano] Giuntoli, will not do anything in January. He will take only two players from Bari, [Walid] Cheddira and Caprile, to put in the squad next season.”
The reason why that could be an issue is that, with the De Laurentiis family owning both clubs, a deal might be struck to facilitate Caprile’s move from Bari to Napoli, perhaps at a fee that wouldn’t reflect his true value on the market.
This, in turn, would affect whatever fee Leeds get from the deal, as selling the goalkeeper to another team, without a family discount, could mean more money in the Elland Road coffers.
With Caprile a confirmed Napoli fan, the move from Leeds to Bari could easily be seen as a pre-planned stepping stone move for the youngster ahead of him featuring for his dream club in the near future.
It could be the Premier League side are privy to all this, but in case they’re not…
