Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis appeared on Radio Kiss Kiss today and admitted his side are trying to purchase Roma’s Kostas Manolas. These are his words:

“Manolas? We have been working on it since Albiol told us of his disinterest in continuing with Napoli because we don’t want to force anyone to stay with us. For Manolas, there are two dangers to overcome: there’s the character aspect – which he has some issues, sometimes he throws tantrums. Giuntoli will have to understand if he is compatible with our dressing room because we can not have problems. The second issue is linked to Roma, who still don’t have a sporting director. We have to understand at what price we can acquire him at. I’m going to invest some money but the buyout clause (of Manolas) has to be lowered. Coupled with his large wages, it’s clear it’s too much. With all the respect I have for Manolas, you also have to consider his age and the fact he can’t be resold. I value him at a lower figure. There are certain presidents who want to buy players from me for half of what they sold him to me for. Everyone wants to be head of the class, especially in Italy. I found an agreement with Real Madrid for Higuain in three minutes”.

John Solano The Editor of RomaPress, John has been covering Italian football as a freelance journalist for over 10 years and has appeared in various publications including ASRoma.com, ESPN, The Liverpool Echo, and more.