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Hello and welcome to the Serie A news and rumors of the day! As usual, there are many exciting stories from the rumor mill to read. So, let's take a look at the top stories of the day surrounding the Italian top flight.
Atletico offer €50 M for James Rodriguez as Napoli set to miss out on the Real Madrid star
James Rodriguez's future has been subjected to numerous speculations ever since Bayern Munich refused to buy him. Napoli seems to be very interested in the 28-year-old, but the Italian side are playing hardball over the transfer. Real Madrid have given their approval to let the player go on a permanent basis for €42 million.
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On the other hand, Napoli President Aurelio de Laurentiis confirmed that his the club want to sign the player on loan. Laurentiis appeared to be angry with Real Madrid and hinted that Napoli would go for Ivorian sensation Nicolas Pepe if the Los Blancos refused to let go of the Colombian.
Pepe has gathered interest from top European clubs such as Liverpool after amassing more than 20 goals in Ligue. However, Football Italia reports that Atletico Madrid are ready to offer up to €50 million for James. Thus, Napoli will lose out on the player if they don't act fast.
“What I don’t understand is why can Bayern, who have three times the revenue of Napoli, take James Rodriguez on loan and we can’t? I would like to see how he and Ancelotti dialogue along with the rest of the team before investing €42m,” De Laurentiis said.
“If James could arrive on loan, nobody would say no to that, because we could also purchase another forward who could guarantee 30 goals per season alongside Arkadiusz Milik. Otherwise, I have to think about someone else with an eye to the future.”
“It could be Pepe or someone else. He scores more goals than Hirving Lozano. James is, without doubt, a very talented player, but if you study his career path, he has never really delivered on that potential.
Manchester United offered €66 million plus bonuses for Romelu Lukaku
Inter Milan have tried hard to sign the Manchester United striker. However, it is understandable that the Serie A side doesn't have enough financial strength to purchase the player outright. Numerous reports claimed that Manchester United have rejected Inter Milan's first offer for the 26-year-old.
Inter's initial plan was to sign Romelu Lukaku on a 2-year loan deal with a €60 million obligation to buy. Now, Inter are reportedly ready to submit an improved offer of €66 million plus bonuses to convince Manchester United. Lukaku remains Inter's main target to replace under-fire Mauro Icardi.
The former Everton striker has been on a downward spiral since he joined United. He scored just 12 goals in the Premier League last season, and Marcus Rashford even started ahead of him on plenty of occasions. However, United are said to demand no less than €87.5 million for the player.
Takehiro Tomiyasu wants to prove himself at Bologna
The Japanese defender has recently joined Bologna for €7 million. He started playing in Europe just over a year ago. Nevertheless, the 20-year-old impressed at Sint-Truiden last season, appearing 27 times as a starter and scored a goal.
He also has 15 senior caps for Japan national team and played all of Japan's matches in the Copa America. The defender revealed that he aims to become a regular for his new club on opening day. He believed that going up against top Serie A strikers will help him develop into a better player.
“I want to prove I belong in the starting XI on opening day,” Tomiyasu said.
“I aim to improve my defensive skills. Going up against top-class strikers will help my development. I want to be a player who can marshal the team from the back. Even if I hit a wall, I don’t want to quit.”
Adrien Rabiot reveals the reason behind his Juventus move
The French starlet has recently joined Juventus after battling his way out of PSG. Adrien Rabiot was a regular under Thomas Tuchel last season, starting 12 league games and managed to score twice. Unfortunately, PSG decided to exclude him from the squad following Rabiot's refusal to extend his contract.
The 24-year-old was linked with European giants such as Barcelona and Real Madrid before joining Juventus on a free transfer. However, Rabiot revealed that he decided to join Juventus because of his desire to improve. He believed that there is no better place to grow than Juventus.
"Juventus are a great club with history and prestige," the midfielder said.
"I’m very happy to be here. One of the reasons that led me to choose Juventus is that I wanted to improve and take my career to the next level."
"I’ll be playing with some excellent players. There’s no better place to grow and keep learning."
Laurentiis confirms Eljif Elmas arrival
Napoli are having a busy transfer week, as the club will look to end Juventus's dominance in the Serie A next season. AS Roma defender Kostas Manolas has recently arrived at Naples, and Partenopei are still working to sign James Rodriguez from Real Madrid.
However, Aurelio de Laurentiis confirmed that they have signed Fenerbahce sensation Eljif Elmas. The Macedonian starlet had an excellent spell at Fenerbahce last season, scoring 4 goals from 17 appearances as a starter. The 19-year-old was wanted by several top Premier League clubs such as Manchester City before joining Napoli. Laurentiis was asked if Elmas will arrive from Fenerbahce this week.
“That is true!” the 70-year-old answered.
The SSC Napoli President also revealed that his side is now looking for a player who can score plenty of goals.
“I’ve built an excellent defense. Now, we need someone who can score goals, not counting penalties. Arkadiusz Milik is a great striker because he scores so many goals without taking spot-kicks,” he said.
