Napoli get Kobbie Mainoo revenge on Man Utd

Napoli have moved on from Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo and are instead targeting Wolves star Joao Gomes, according to a report.

The reigning Serie A champions have had to deal with a midfield injury crisis for several weeks, leading to frustration from manager Antonio Conte. If it were up to him, Napoli would already have brought in January reinforcements by now.

However, finding the right players has proved difficult for the Serie A giants. Their top target was Man Utd wonderkid Kobbie Mainoo, but the sacking of head coach Ruben Amorim has turned the 20-year-old’s situation at Old Trafford on its head.

Mainoo is now expected to receive much more game time under interim boss Darren Fletcher and whoever – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Michael Carrick – comes in to replace him.

It is now believed that Mainoo will remain with his boyhood club, which is a major setback for Napoli, who had spent weeks trying to convince the Red Devils to agree to a loan move.

Napoli eye Man Utd target

According to Sky Italia, Napoli have moved on to different targets, with Joao Gomes now featuring prominently on their shortlist. The Wolves star has been heavily linked with a mid-season move recently.

Intriguingly, Gomes is also a target for Man Utd, so the Old Trafford club may have inadvertently scuppered their chances of signing the Brazilian by refusing to let Mainoo go out on loan.

Wolves, although they are currently on a decent run of results, are still rooted to the bottom of the Premier League and all but guaranteed to be relegated at the end of the season.

This is why it has been posited that they could be open to cashing in on Gomes and other key performers, such as Jorgen Strand Larsen and Mateus Mane. Relegation will inevitably depreciate the value of these players.

Despite this and Napoli’s desperate search for a midfielder, the report claims that Gomes is primarily a target for the summer, rather than January, so it remains to be seen if this story develops further.

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