Napoli is perhaps the Serie A club with the most intense media surrounding it. Scott McTominay can’t go for a pizza without us all knowing what toppings he chose and whether he now has a regular pizza-haunt.
That media has been bursting with excitement in recent days as claims regarding Kevin De Bruyne moving to Napoli from Manchester City have got stronger. According to endless Italian reports, Napoli are in talks with De Bruyne’s camp, have made an offer, and are formulating a wider deal to try and tempt him.
There’s some confidence the Manchester City player could choose Napoli because of good references from compatriots like Romelu Lukaku and Dries Mertens. The latter is now at Galatasaray but he travels back to his home in Naples whenever he gets the chance, where the locals call him Ciro.
That’s a traditional local name and it was bestowed upon Mertens because he’d integrated so well into Naples life. Responding in kind, the Belgian even named his son Ciro Romero.
Such a love affair between club and player is something which may tempt De Bruyne.
There’s even been claims of the Manchester City player’s wife Michele Lacroix house-hunting in the city, which sounds like a wonderful way to spend a day or so.
CalcioNapoli24 have quotes from Italian journalist Dario Sarnataro, and he presents the current situation as he sees it: “The negotiation with Napoli is real: the club likes the player, and they are trying to bring him to Italy. De Bruyne’s wife has already been in the city and, when the family moves, it means that the transfer is not impossible and that everything is being evaluated.
“From what we understand, the Belgian’s wife was not very happy with the houses she saw in Naples. It’s about a couple of apartments in the Posillipo area that she was not enthusiastic about because she had different needs: her requests were for a bigger and more modern house, different. The De Bruynes are used to ‘mega villas’ with lots of space, something you can hardly find in the centre of Naples, even if it is in a very beautiful and panoramic area.
“Someone from the family, perhaps a collaborator, will soon return to verify other situations. The apartment is only one of the aspects to consider, together with the economic offer and the proposals of the competition.”
Dries Mertens lived in Palazzo Donn’Anna, overlooking a small bay in Posillipo, but it was a historic building and not the white-walls-grey-floors it’s suggested the De Bruyne family are looking for.
He fell in love with it so much he still owns the property and returns whenever he gets the chance.
