The Partenopei may have parted company with Edinson Cavani and coach Walter Mazzarri but they actually look better equipped to challenge for the title this season than last

COMMENT
By Mark Doyle

Aurelio Di Laurentiis feels like celebrating. On Wednesday evening, Napoli all but sealed the signings of Gonzalo Higuain and Pepe Reina, prompting the Partenopei’s movie-producing president to announce on Twitter: “On Monday evening we’ll have a big party at the San Paolo.”

When it comes to the European club scene, nothing of note is ever won in July. Nor is an expensive outlay any guarantee of success. Still, De Laurentiis’ current sense of jubilation is understandable.

Of course, on the face of it, such a celebratory mood would be anything but justified. Since finishing second last season, Napoli have lost not only their highly-respected coach, Walter Mazzarri, but also their top goalscorer, Edinson Cavani.

In that sense, the Partenopei should be in dire straits – yet nothing could be further from the truth.

NAPOLI’S SUMMER SIGNINGS
PlayerRaul Albiol Jose Callejon Gonzalo Higuain Dries Mertens Rafael Jose Reina	From Real Madrid Real Madrid Real Madrid PSV Santos Liverpool	Fee€12m €10m €37m €9.5m €5m Loan

Both Mazzarri and Cavani will be missed, of that there is little doubt. Mazzarri is the man who turned Napoli into one of the most feared counterattacking sides in Europe, with the incredibly-clinical nature of Cavani’s finishing allowing him to do so.

How is it, then, that Napoli now look better equipped to challenge Juventus for the title this season than last? Well, the simple answer is De Laurentiis.

By trade, this is a man who knows how to sell a film. It’s become patently obvious, though, that he also knows how to sell a player.

That Cavani wanted to and would leave the San Paolo this summer has been well known for some time now. However, De Laurentiis stood firm when it came to potential suitors. He refused to play ball when asked to lower the asking price, stating time and time again that any interested party would have to pay the buy-out clause. In the end, he banked a staggering €64 million for the Uruguay international.

Hardly surprising then that Rafael Benitez was so drawn to Naples, in spite of the fact that his previous experience of Serie A, with Inter, had proven an embarrassment, with the Spaniard unceremoniously sacked after a very public row with the parsimonious Massimo Moratti over the release of transfer funds.

The former Liverpool boss stated last week that he is no longer bitter about his dismissal, yet he made a point of bringing up the fact that he had been promised players by the Nerazzurri only to be afforded “zero” money to spend.

Therefore, having underlined both his mental resilience and rather useful habit of landing silverware during his short – but undeniably successful – stint at Stamford Bridge last season, Benitez will clearly relish the opportunity to show Moratti what a mistake he made three years go by not giving him the financial backing he demanded. That the man he has succeeded at Napoli is now in situ at San Siro will only intensify the mounting animosity between these two sides.

De Laurentiis has described Benitez as “the most important signing of the summer” – every great production needs a great director, after all. However, the Partenopei supremo knows that it is star names that put bums on seats, which is precisely why he was willing to pay €37m for Higuain.

Both Arsenal and Juventus wanted el Pipita, but neither were willing to cough up quite so much cash for the Argentine. The price may seem exorbitant but his signing still represents a significant coup for Napoli. Higuain, after all, scored 106 goals in 188 Liga appearances for Madrid, which is an impressive tally given how often he was forced to play second fiddle to more celebrated strikers during his seven-year stay at the Santiago Bernabeu. Make no mistake about it: Napoli have a signed a proven, world-class goalscorer in the prime of his career; one with something to prove.

 Key Role | De Laurentiis says Benitez is his “most important signing of the summer”

The striker has told Liverpool that he wants to join the Gunners and is ready to lodge an official request to engineer his departure from the Merseyside club

EXCLUSIVE
By Wayne Veysey

The striker has told Anfield officials he wants to leave the club and join Arsenal, who made a bid worth €49 million for him on Monday.

However, Liverpool insist that Suarez is not for sale and have let it be known to the player’s camp that he will have to lodge an official transfer request in writing in order to leave Merseyside.

Sources have told Goal that the Uruguayan is now ready do so as he steps up his plans to remove one of the obstacles to his exit.

This raises the prospect that Suarez will concede bonuses and other financial triggers but, with the player so keen to leave, Liverpool will face a decision over whether to begin negotiating a fee for his sale with Arsenal.

The Gunners lodged a second bid for the forward on Monday, made up of €41m up front and supplemented by €8m of add-ons.

This has been rejected by Liverpool but it is understood that Arsene Wenger will ‘pull out all the stops’ in an attempt to land Suarez, who has become the main focus of his attention as he attempts to make a marquee striker signing.

Arsenal are believed to be confident that the Uruguayan is keen on a move to Emirates Stadium, and have now gone into completely unchartered territory to capture him.

The offer, which is comfortably a club record, is nearly double the €27.1m offer the Gunners made earlier this month for Gonzalo Higuain, who is putting the finishing touches to a €35m move to Napoli.

Arsenal are also preparing what is believed to be a lucrative package for a player who signed a €116,000-a-week four-year deal last summer.

Liverpool are fighting to hold on to the striker, who has spoken frequently this summer of his interest in a move, most specifically to Real Madrid. However, the Spanish giants have yet to make a bid for him and Arsenal are currently the only club in the running for his signature.

Earlier, Suarez made an 18-minute cameo appearance as a substitute on as he returned to the Liverpool team for the first time since April 21. In front of 95,000 fans at the MCG, he set up the second goal in the Merseysiders’ 2-0 win.

Brendan Rodgers has compared Suarez’s value to that of Edinson Cavani, who joined Paris Saint-Germain last week for €64m, but the Anfield manager has stopped short of completely ruling out the Uruguayan’s departure, merely saying every player has his value and he will only leave “if something drastic happens”.

A bid rising to €49m for a 26-year-old who is banned for the first six games of the new season might be regarded as tempting by Liverpool’s America-based owners Fenway Sports Group but John W Henry seemingly Tweeted to ridicule Arsenal’s latest bid for Suarez, writing: “What do you think they are smoking over there at Emirates?”

Suarez has a €46m clause in his contract which his advisers believe entitles him to ask for permission to speak to any club that matches the price. But Liverpool claim they only have to inform Suarez and the clause does not oblige them to sell. 

Arsenal believe they have been given enough encouragement by the Uruguayan’s representatives that he is keen to move to Emirates Stadium in search of Champions League football.

The Gunners’ second offer has been timed to coincide with Suarez returning to pre-season training following his extended summer break. The striker linked up with Liverpool in Melbourne on Sunday for the second leg of their pre-season tour.

Suarez has emerged as Wenger’s first choice ahead of Higuain and Wayne Rooney, who is the subject of strong interest from Chelsea.

Follow Wayne Veysey on

The Partenopei chief has revealed the club are set to complete deals for two big-name players by Monday

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has confirmed that Gonzalo Higuain and Pepe Reina are both close to joining the club after passing medicals.

Higuain, 25, has long been linked with a move to Arsenal but the Serie A outfit have beaten the Gunners to his signature after the Real Madrid striker successfully completed a medical prior to a reported €35 million move.

The Partenopei are also set to complete what is believed to be a season-long loan deal for 30-year-old Liverpool goalkeeper Reina, following the Reds’ signing of Simon Mignolet, with De Laurentiis revealing that both transfers could be completed by Monday.

He wrote on his official Twitter page: “Higuain and Reina passed medicals and will join group very soon.

“Monday night we will make a big party at San Paolo. You will know new players and more.

“You will discover the new jerseys and listen to the new hymn, a remake of ‘O Surdato ‘nnamurato’ and watch the new Napoli cheerleaders.

“We can say we have worked a lot but we will not stop here.”

De Laurentiis recently revealed that coach Rafa Benitez has €124 million to spend following the €64m sale of striker Edinson Cavani to Paris Saint-Germain.

The Spaniard has already been busy in the summer transfer window after completing deals for Dries Mertens, Raul Albiol and Jose Callejon, as he bids to make a flying start to life at Napoli having joined the club in June.