De Laurentiis: Higuain was not Napoli’s first choice to replace Cavani

Date: 25th September 2013 at 6:51am
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HIguain - NapoliNapoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has stated that Gonzalo Higuain was not Napoli’s first choice replacement for the departed Edison Cavani, and that a move for the Argentine only came after negotiations for Brazilian striker Leandro Damaio fell through.

The former Real Madrid player has hit the ground running since his €37.5million move from the Bernabeu, scoring four goals in give games as the Partenopei have won every match to date in the young season.

“At the start we were talking to Damiao, but we were unable to come to an agreement with his agent,” De Laurentiis told Canale 21.

“As a result, we then decided to contact Real Madrid for Higuain and we immediately found an agreement.”

De Laurentiis’ comments explain why the Naples club were so late to move for Higuain during the off season, as the striker was reportedly close to signing an agreement with Premier League club Arsenal.

Napoli currently sit atop the Serie A alongside Roma with a maximum 12 points from four matches, and face newly promoted Sassuolo at the San Paulo on Wednesday evening.

 

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