Manchester United star Paul Pogba makes surprising request to help with Juventus transfer, Arsenal line up deal for Serie A trio and more, 26 June 2019

#2 Cannavaro believes Manolas will help Napoli a lot in the Champions League

AS Roma's Manolas

Former Real Madrid defender Fabio Cannavaro hinted that Napoli could be a Champions League contender if the Serie A side manage to snatch Kostas Manolas from AS Roma. The Greek defender is reportedly close to joining Napoli on a €36 million deal.

Napoli, however, will not pay in full cash as Partenopei will include Amadou Diawara in the deal. Diawara is also said to have accepted to move to Roma.

Cannavaro said:

“If Napoli really want a step up in quality, they need to do it with Manolas,

"The Greece international in a partnership with Koulibaly would be exceptional. They both know how to defend deep or higher up the pitch, from close quarters or when forwards run at them. They’re excellent in one-on-one situations.

“With two players like that, you can afford to commit more men in attack and create better scoring opportunities.

“The big clubs with centre-backs who have these characteristics can go all the way in the Champions League. I’m talking about Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool, Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane at Real Madrid, while Ajax came so close with Matthijs de Ligt.”