‘Hamsik could go to China’

By Football Italia staff

Marek Hamsik's father claims the Napoli captain’s future is “60-40 in favour of his departure to China”.

The midfielder is the club’s record goalscorer, and if he stays for next season he’ll only need to play 11 games to break the appearance record too.

However, it appears that its by no means certain, with offers of up to €10m per season on the table from the Chinese Super League.

“Their interest is serious but negotiations aren’t easy,” Richard Hamsik told Pravda in his native Slovakia.

“For three years Marek has dismissed any idea of leaving, only focusing on winning the Scudetto with Napoli, but they’ve failed to do that again.

“The problem is that it’s not the main transfer window in China right now, that only happens in winter.

“So the first question, therefore, is when he would leave for China. Clubs have different ideas, the Asian season is up and running and Chinese teams have limits on the number of foreigners in their squad.

“Another thing is that Marek still has a three year contract in Naples, so it’s all in the hands of his agents and his employer.

“Right now I see it as being 60-40 in favour of his departure to China. Now Marek's agent, Juraj Vengloš, is going to talk to the president of the club.

“Slovakia? There have been many cases where a player who plays in China still gets called by the national team.

“One of them is Marek's former teammate in Naples, [Ezequiel] Lavezzi, who has been playing in China for three years.”

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