According to Italian outlet ‘Il Mattino’, Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis has called Rafa Benitez to ask him if he would be open to returning to Serie A – with the story claiming that he ‘didn’t say no’ despite being left very surprised to hear from his former owner.
Rafa confirmed last week that talks over his future are underway – with more set to also take place this week – so it seems things are moving in the right direction ahead of a huge summer for the club, however we always run the risk of losing him if his ambitions aren’t matched by Mike Ashley.
Leicester and Arsenal have both been linked with moves for the Spaniard, and now it’s claimed that Aurelio de Laurentiis has been in touch – with the Napoli’s president said to be assessing his options should he lose current manager Maurizio Sarri at the end of the season.
Neapolitan newspaper Il Mattino claims #Napoli have contacted #NUFC manager Rafa Benitez about a return to the club. https://t.co/TjS9h9cCI9 pic.twitter.com/HU6ph8nNLI
— footballitalia (@footballitalia) April 30, 2018
Italian newspaper Il Mattino state that Benitez ‘did not expect the call and was very perplexed’, claiming that he refused to say yes or no to de Laurentiis – suggesting he is open to the idea of a return to Italy IF Newcastle can’t match his ambition this summer.
Who knows whether this is true, but a club like Napoli pinching him this summer is not beyond the realms of possibility if he and the club can’t come to some sort of agreement over the coming weeks.
