City frontmen lined up to replace Barcelona target.
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Napoli could make a move for either Edin Dzeko or Stevan Jovetic of Manchester City this summer as the Serie A side look like losing Gonzalo Higuain to Barcelona, CaughtOffside understands.
The Argentine striker only made the move to the Stadio San Paolo from Real Madrid last year as the club sought to replace Edinson Cavani after his £54m move to Paris Saint-Germain, but his fine form looks to have earned him a big move back to La Liga.
Barca have been keen to bring in an out-and-out striker to add some variety to their current attacking options, which include mainly wingers and ‘false 9’-style players such as Lionel Messi and Neymar, while Pedro Rodriguez and Alexis Sanchez could also be sold by the Catalan giants in the coming months.
Another Manchester City star in Sergio Aguero had also been linked with a move to the Nou Camp, but the club now look to be closing in on a deal to sign Higuain for around £32m, meaning Napoli will once again have plenty of money to spend on a quality replacement in that position.
After Higuain contributed 22 goals to Napoli’s cause in 2013/14, manager Rafael Benitez will now look to two players on the books at the Etihad Stadium with hope that they can come in and ensure the Barcelona-bound 26-year-old is not too badly missed.
Benitez’s first choice is Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko, who scored 26 goals in all competitions for City, hitting a strong run of form towards the end of the season to help the club win the Premier League title, while backup player Stevan Jovetic is also an option.
Dzeko’s future at City is far from guaranteed, but his crucial goalscoring streak towards the end of this season could mean he proves a little expensive for Napoli, while Jovetic is more likely to be available for a reduced fee after largely disappointing in his first season in the Premier League.
The Montenegro international had been a top performer at previous club Fiorentina, however, and Napoli are one of several Serie A clubs who still rate him highly, with Juventus and Inter Milan also monitoring his situation this summer.
It could be that the 24-year-old will be granted a loan move by City, which could then see Napoli spend further money on attacking players elsewhere, with Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku and Real Madrid youngster Alvaro Morata being two other players who could be available and to Benitez’s liking.
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