It has been three weeks since Udinese sporting director Cristiano Giaretta confirmed that Liverpool were interested in midfielder Piotr Zielinski. But Liverpool’s failure to complete the deal could open the door for Napoli to snap up the youngster, who has worked with coach Maurizio Sarri during his time at Empoli.
Sources in Italy including Sky Sport Italia claim that Napoli have surpassed Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund and are now in pole position to acquire Piotr Zielinski (via Football Italia). The asking fee of 12 million euros, which has perhaps been elemental in extinguishing the Reds pursuit of him, will not be a problem for Napoli.
The 22 year old Polish midfielder who is on loan from Udinese for the last two seasons has caught the eye of many clubs in Italy and abroad. The Hard Tackle reported earlier of the Reds interest in him as confirmed by Udinese CEO – “There is interest from Liverpool and it is concrete interest. He [Piotr] is doing very well and has the eyes of the Premier League on him,” Giaretta was quoted as saying.
Since then, however, Liverpool have not made any notable progress and have stalled negotiations.
Liverpool meanwhile have set their eyes on Borussia Munchengladbach midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud. The Syrian born midfielder will, however, burn a hole in Jurgen Klopp’s pockets, should the German decide to sign him. Liverpool will have to dig deep and shell out at least 30-35 million euros for the German U21 star.
Zielinski’s potential reunion with Sarri
Zielinski must be relishing the idea of a potential reunion with former coach Maurizio Sarri under whom he played the 2014-15 season before Sarri moved to Napoli. However, he should take note that not all such reunions have been fruitful in the recent past. For instance, former Empoli midfielder Mirko Valdifiori was unable to get a starting spot ahead of Jorginho. With the likes of Callejon, Hamsik, Jorginho and David Lopez, it will be difficult for anybody to gain a stating spot right away.
