Sunderland have made the first move towards signing €6 million rated Walter Gargano from Napoli.
The Serie A runners-up are eager to offload the 29-year-old Uruguayan midfielder who spent the 2012-13 season on loan at Inter.
The former Danubio man has not been included in Napoli’s Emirates Cup squad and it is thought that Rafa Benitez believes Gargano has no future at the San Paolo based outfit.
According to Il Mattino, the Black Cats made a preliminary enquiry with the Partenopei about the player’s availability although they are yet to decide whether to make a concrete bid for the Uruguay international.
Napoli are determined to sell the player outright after Inter refused to take up the option to make his loan move permanent and, as a result, the Azzurri are only willing to sell Gargano to Sunderland on a permanent basis.
The 29-year-old started 24 times for Inter in Serie A and five times in the Europa league during the Nerazzurri’s 2012-13 campaign but did not score in either competition.
