According to Antonio Conte, Napoli will stick to their summertime deal to trade Victor Osimhen.
The Nigerian international rejected down a transfer to the Saudi Pro League last year, despite interest from a number of teams, including Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal.
Osimhen will be allowed to leave Napoli this summer, but the club is waiting for a team to pay his €130 million (£110.8 million) release clause.
But teams in Europe are finding that amount to be too costly, therefore Napoli may now have to consider decreasing their asking price to make a deal happen.
For the first time since taking over as Napoli’s head coach, Conte spoke to the media on Wednesday. He said he had been told that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Frank Anguissa, and Stanislav Lobotka would not be moved, but he was unable to provide the same promise for Osimhen.
“Concerning Osimhen, I am fully aware of the circumstances surrounding Kvara, Di Lorenzo, Anguissa, and Lobotka, over which I have exercised complete control,” Conte declared.
‘Having said that, I know what the situation is regarding Osimhen. I know that there are agreements, that it is a situation different from all the others. I can only assist.
‘He is a player of the highest level, exceptional, but I cannot enter into any discussion because it is part of previous agreements which have been clearly stated to me.’
Conte also confirmed that Kvaratskhelia, who had attracted strong interest from Paris Saint-Germain, will be a key part of his plans at Napoli.
‘He’s staying,’ Conte said.
‘I’ve been very categorical about this. The president gave him this wonderful news.
‘Kvaratskhelia is a player that there are fewer and fewer with these characteristics, so it’s not a whim to want to keep Kvara.
‘I consider him a really strong player, like Di Lorenzo. Strong in one-on-one situations if he’s on the wing, but also strong when he comes inside, but he’s also a playmaker, he creates situations not only in terms of his goals but also very important assists.
‘I think that if you systematically keep Kvara on the pitch, he loses a bit of his mental freedom, I think. We have to indulge his characteristics, we’ll do this with him and with the players we have in the squad.’