Giovanni Manna’s mission in London continues even on August 15th, as he explores various options to strengthen Napoli’s squad. The Sporting Director is eagerly waiting for the sale of striker Victor Osimhen to go through, which will financially empower the club to make more significant moves, even if they receive an amount less than Osimhen’s original release clause of €130 million.
Manna has already held discussions with Brighton about Billy Gilmour and with Chelsea regarding Romelu Lukaku. Recently, he also engaged in talks with Manchester United about Scott McTominay. The encouraging news is that both McTominay and United are open to negotiations; however, the bad news is that a loan deal is off the table unless there is an obligation to buy. The Red Devils are demanding €30 million for the Scottish midfielder, a feasible price but dependent on Napoli securing funds from the sale of Osimhen.
Currently, the deal for Billy Gilmour from Brighton is the most promising. Napoli’s offer of €12 million is close to what Brighton wants, and it could be accepted in the coming hours. Meanwhile, Chelsea appears more willing to negotiate with Napoli regarding Lukaku, who has a release clause of €43 million. Napoli has proposed €25 million plus €5 million in bonuses, and Chelsea is seriously considering it.
While there’s been talk about Osimhen’s future, these two transfer discussions are currently separate. Napoli has already reached an agreement for David Neres, whose €25 million release clause does not pose any major challenges. The club is waiting to finalize the situation with Lukaku to decide whether to allocate those funds towards the Belgian striker or shift focus to the Brazilian winger, who remains a target once Osimhen’s sale is confirmed.
On the outgoing front, Napoli is in the process of formalizing loan deals for Natan to Real Betis and Cajuste to Ipswich Town.