'Golden Boy' Lee Kang-in (24)'s 'Napoli Transfer Outlook' has a major negative factor.
A player who is younger than Lee Kang-in but has a high name value appeared as the No. 1 player. This is reported by a leading British media that is recognized for its public confidence. Serie A Napoli is more interested than Lee Kang-in is Alejandro Garnacho (20), a former member of Manchester United's Sunggol Youth. There is a high possibility that Lee Kang-in's transfer negotiations will be pushed back.
The Guardian, a leading British media outlet, said on the 3rd (Korean time) 'Garnacho is currently considered the No. 1 candidate for Napoli's recruitment. Napoli, who won Serie A, reported that they could bring in an Argentine winger from Manchester United for a transfer fee of 40 million pounds (about 74.7 billion won).
Considering the status of the media and specific conditions, it cannot be seen as a simple rumor. Garnacho is also one of the players who was expected to leave Manchester United since the beginning of this year. During the January transfer window, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Atletico Madrid, and Bayer Leverkusen also made love calls.
The Guardian reported that `Napoli has already sought to recruit Garnacho by offering Manchester United a transfer fee of £40 million in January' and that the Napoli general manager will try to recruit again in the summer.'
In some cases, there is a possibility that the transfer fee may be raised and proposed. Sportsbible reported that `Manna is preparing for a new meeting with Manchester United by raising the transfer fee to 50 million pounds (about 93 billion won) to recruit Garnacho.'
Just in time, Manchester United's financial situation is also rapidly deteriorating due to poor league performance and failure to win the Europa League. As a result, it is expected to actively promote the reorganization of the squad. Sign star Bruno Fernandes is also likely to be sold to the Saudi Arabian League. If Garnacho can be traded and paid £50 million, owner Jim Ratcliffe, who is desperate to improve the financial problem, will not mind.
The fact that Garnacho did not impress in the 2024-2025 season at Manchester United is also raising the possibility of a transfer. Garnacho has played in a total of 58 games this season, scoring 11 goals-10 assists. The performance itself is not bad, but overall, the team's contribution is not high.
The sudden appearance of Napoli and Garnacho's transfer is never good news for Lee Kang-in, who is seeking a transfer from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Lee Kang-in was appointed by PSG coach Luis Enrique until early and mid-season this season, but since January this year, he has been completely classified as a 'surplus resource' in the team.
Therefore, he was in the final entry of 22 when he won the UEFA Champions League (UCL), but he did not step on the pitch for a minute. As a result, Lee Kang-in lifted 'Big Year' at the victory ceremony and took a commemorative photo with his teammates, but he is not an official winner.
In the end, Lee Kang-in is in a position to seek an escape from PSG for his career. PSG is also known to have no intention of renewing its contract with Lee Kang-in. In this situation, Napoli was the most likely team to be mentioned as Lee Kang-in's next destination. Italian media and other media reported Lee Kang-in's transfer to Naples at the end of last month.
Lee Kang-in's trip to Naples, which seemed to go smoothly until then, feels like he has fallen back into a mystery due to Garnacho's appearance. Attention is focusing on whether Lee Kang-in will be able to create a new career in Naples.
Reporter Lee Won-man wman@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
