According to reports, Manchester United have lined up a £25m summer transfer bid for Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik.
Many critics believe Manchester United’s biggest weakness is the midfield and the fact that Paul Scholes form hasn’t been great and Ryan Giggs is not getting any younger may convince Alex Ferguson to make some new player transfers come January.
Signing the talented Hamsik, who is also a target for Chelsea and was reported to be on Liverpool’s radar earlier in the season, would certainly give United an added attacking threat from the midfield. Snapped up by Brescia after proving his skill with Slovan Bratislava. He shone in Italy with Brescia scoring a hugely impressive ten goals from midfield and it wasn’t too long before Napoli paid over 5.5m Euros to take the player to the Sao Paolo.
Since joining Napoli in 2007, Hamsik’s efforts in Serie A have established him as one of the best midfielders in the world. Managing to score 25 goals in 81 games Hamsik’s form has been some of the best in the league. After giving Napoli their first win over Juventus in Turin in 21 years with an excellent two goals Hamsik has quickly became known as the best midfielder in Serie A.
Hamsik’s form for Slovakia has been equally impressive. Expected to be one of the major stars of the upcoming World Cup his efforts might put him down into soccer history forever.
Interest and a big offer from major teams may not be enough however with sporting director Riccardo Bigon stating:
“Manchester United are after Hamsik? If we rejected the rumours regarding a friend like [Carlo] Ancelotti and his Chelsea, it is obvious we also reject these rumours.”
These comments have since been substantiated by Napoli chairman Aurielo De Laurentiis who confirmed:
“Many clubs have requested Hamsik, it’s true, but he will stay with us for the long-term”
Whether in Summer, Napoli maintain the same comments is yet to be seen. Whether Napoli really plans to keep Hamsik into the future only time will tell, with not a lot of cash in the club it can be hard to see them not be at least tempted to sell the player if the offer is right.
Chelsea’s current situation however might put a stop to any dealings between Napoli and Manchester United. With Carlo Ancelotti given the go ahead to spend £25m on a player by Roman Abramovich in January they might beat Manchester United to the punch