The Italians are ready to make Reina move permanent.
Napoli are prepared to meet Liverpool’s £5m asking price for goalkeeper Pepe Reina and make the Spaniard’s stay in Serie A permanent, reports Forza Italian Football.
Reina is currently midway through a season’s long loan with the Italian club from Anfield, but with Simon Mignolet impressing on Merseyside it’s unlikely the 31-year-old will ever regain the No.1 jersey with the Reds.
However, there are a host of other top European clubs also chasing the ‘keeper – according to the Spain international’s agent Manuel Garcia Quillon – with Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan all said to be interested.
The two La Liga sides know they will be without their current first choices come next campaign, with Atletico’s loanee Thibaut Courtois returning to Chelsea and Victor Valdes leaving the Nou Camp.
The Gunners did have some question marks over Wojciech Szczesny in the summer, but the Poland international has performed admirably since then and the position is no longer a major concern.
Reina arrived on Merseyside in the summer of 2005, signed by Rafael Benitez from Villarreal and it was the manager’s current position at Napoli that convinced the stopper to move there.
In that first season at the club the ‘keeper helped them to FA Cup victory through penalty shootout heroics and has since played 395 times for the side in all competitions.
Yet it now seems highly unlikely that Reina will ever don a Liverpool shirt again and Benitez will have to work fast to tempt the Spanish star to Naples ahead of the likes of Barca.
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