Ramires could be on his way to Italy under the Stamford Bridge revolution.
According to Football Italia newly appointed Napoli coach Rafael Benitez wants to take Chelsea midfielder Ramires with him to Serie A.
The imminent appointment of Jose Mourinho as Blues manager could spell the end of some key players’ time at Stamford Bridge and Benitez is looking to take advantage.
Mourinho has been linked with bringing Real Madrid and former Tottenham star Luka Modric with him to Stamford Bridge, as well as Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi.
These big name arrivals would mean players in the same position in the centre of the park – such as Ramires – would get less opportunities in the first team.
Chelsea signed the Brazilian from Benfica in the summer of 2010 for £19.4m and he has since become an important member of the squad.
Ramires has played 152 times for the west London side during his three years at the club, which included a colossal 65 matches in a bumper 2012/13 season.
The Brazil international was instrumental in the Blues’ Europa League campaign this year and he also scored the first goal in Chelsea’s historic Champions League semi-final triumph over Barcelona at the Nou Camp last year.
The 26-year-old lobbed the ball over a hapless Victor Valdes which put Ramires’ side on the road to the final in Germany, where they beat Bayern Munich in dramatic fashion on penalties.
However, if Benitez does want to land his man then he will have to ask Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis to delve in the club coffers as football website transfermarkt.com value the midfielder at £24m.
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