Quagliarella to Napoli?

By: Neil | May 29th, 2009

When Udinese President Giampaolo Pozzo claims that Napoli are leading the way to sign Castellamare di Stabia native Fabio Quagliarella, it’s more than just a rumour. Pozzo employed Napoli d.s. Pier Paolo Marino at Udinese for years and the two could not have a better working relationship. Then there’s Quagliagol himself. The striker, more than other Napoli natives, has repeatedly expressed his desire to play for the Partenopei. But as usual, things are not straightforward. The 26 year old is in the prime of his career, and other teams besides Napoli are after his services.

Juventus and Roma are reportedly trying to sign Quagliarella, and Pozzo values the player at around E25 million, about the same as Diego. Napoli has apparently offered E13 million plus the remaining half of defender Maurizio Domizzi. The bottom line is this: Pozzo is a sharp President, and he won’t do Napoli any favours by selling Quagliarella for anything less than full value. Quagliarella’s desire to play for Napoli will be a factor, but until this move happens I’d say it’s almost too good to be true. Quagliagol is a full Italy international, and with big clubs looking to add him Napoli might be outbid. But there’s plenty of reason to be hopeful.

Where will the money for Quagliarella come from? The Lavezzi to Liverpool rumours won’t go away. The latest rumour has Liverpool offering E20 million plus defender Andrea Dossena for Lavezzi. This is about as good a deal as Napoli can get. E20 million would help finance the capture of Quagliarella plus maybe Cigarini as well, and in Dossena the club is getting an Italy international with experience at a big, big club in Liverpool. Dossena wasn’t a regular for Liverpool this year, but his time abroad should serve him well when returns to the peninsula.

One other story is worth a mention. Keeper Nico Navarro has stated his desire to remain a Napoli player. Navarro has been excluded from recent Argentina squads, and I think he’s realized that if he wants to make La Seleccion he has to grow up and play consistently well every week. If you look at his recent performances, many of the goals he’s conceding are from penalties or unstoppable shots. Even though the club questions his attitudes, I’ve seen enough promise to want to keep him. I have doubts about Iezzo’s ability to stay injury free.