Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis proclaimed Gonzalo Higuain will remain with the club for a third season despite speculation surrounding the departure of the Argentine international.
The comments were made in response to Higuain’s agent and brother, Nicolas Higuain, who stated he didn’t understand the club’s strategy regarding a release clause which the club stated must be met in one installment in order to let the talismanic striker leave the San Paolo outfit.
“Gonzalo is now and will remain a Napoli player. Nicolas is a tremendous person but he lives far from Italy and is hearing reports that we are going to sell the player for €40 or €5o million. Higuain has a release clause [valued at nearly €95 million release] and it is not negotiable,” De Laurentiis said in an interview with Sport Mediaset.
The Partenopei are currently in pre-season training through the end of July and the outspoken president and film producer urged Higuain to join his teammates.
“Higuain played in the Copa America and he’s entitled to his days off but Nicolas, get your brother here as soon as possible because we’re having fun,” De Laurentiis added.
The squad look set to be completely rebuilt after the departure of coach Rafa Benitez to Real Madrid and former Empoli coach Maurizio Sarri now steering the Napoli ship. The Azzurri have already secured the services of Pepe Reina and Mirko Valdifiori and look set to add more new faces for a revitalized Napoli as the squad look to put the disappointing finishes of previous campaigns behind them.
“We are tracking several players and I can say we are looking to reinforce our defense with both fullbacks and central defenders, that’s our priority. Then we’ll look to improve our midfield that has already changed with the arrival of Valdifiori.”
