The year long saga over the transfer of French international midfielder Maxime Gonalons to Napoli looks to be over with Lyon confirming the player will stay with the French giants next season.
Gonalons proposed move to the Partenopei has been touted since Rafa Benitez took charge of the club last summer with a bid being rejected and then on the verge of being completed in January only for Lyon to change their asking price at the last minute, enraging Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis.
However, reports had stated that Napoli had returned for the French midfielder with many expecting the deal to finally be completed in the coming weeks.
However, a statement on Lyons official website put paid to such talk, announcing that “Maxime Gonalons, the subject of much transfer interest from several clubs, including Napoli, has revealed he wants to stay at OL and will remain at the club next season.”
The news will come as a blow to the Naples side, with such a public rejection of a years worth of advances sure to upset many at the club.
A defensive midfielder is a priority for Rafa Benitez this summer and with the decisions of both Gonalons and Javier Mascherano to remain at their current clubs, is beginning to become a problem area for the Neapolitans.
