Napoli and AC Milan look set to fight it out to sign Erik Lamela this summer, with the winger prepared to cut his salary by half to secure a move away from Tottenham.
Lamela has been hit and miss since joining Spurs from Roma in 2013. He played his best football in the 2015/16 season, but a succession of serious injuries either side of that have restricted his involvement.
It's a theme that has continued during Jose Mourinho's tenure. A calf injury kept him out for a spell towards the end of last year, and Mourinho has since been reluctant to give him a run in the side.
A goal worth watching over and over again. ?
— 90min (@90min_Football) March 14, 2021
Goal of the season for Lamela?pic.twitter.com/qADG8po25Y
His impact this season has been fairly minimal - brain-melting Rabona against Arsenal last month aside. He's started just five Premier League matches, and reports that he could leave in the summer - which normally emerge around this time of year - have come to the fore in Italy.
This time, the word is that Napoli and Milan have both spoken with he 29-year-old, but it's Gennaro Gattuso's team who have emerged as favourites after 'very intense' conversations surrounding a move.
This comes from Corriere dello Sport, via Sport Witness, who tend to be reliable when it comes to breaking down reports from the continent.
They say that Lamela is actively pushing to make a move happen and is even prepared to take a substantial pay cut if it means a fresh start back in Italy, where he made his name in Europe after two strong seasons with Roma.
Lamela currently takes home around £80,000 per week at Spurs, but it's claimed that he would settle for an annual salary of '€2-2.5m' per year - which works out somewhere between £40,000 and £50,000 weekly.
Napoli are prepared to commit to him fully by signing him to a three or four-year contract, which is likely why he is content to accept a lower salary.
Lamela's contract with Spurs expires at the end of next season, so it is likely they will listen to any sort of reasonable bid - particularly if the player wants to leave.
Source: 90min
