Napoli plan to formally bid for £25m-rated Kieran Tierney as early as this week if they manage to offload fellow left-back Mario Rui.

The 28-year-old Portugal international has been told he can leave by the manager, Carlo Ancelotti, and has attracted interest from Milan, Roma, Benfica and Torino. The Turin club, managed by the former Watford head coach, Walter Mazzarri, are seeking to land both Rui and Italy forward Simone Verdi in a double raid on Naples, but are understood to have baulked at an asking price in excess of €15m (around £13.5m) for the defender.

Rui’s agent, Mario Giuffredi, said recently that it was the player’s “dream” to return to Benfica, for whose youth teams he turned out at the start of his career.