Elmas out, Napoli fight Juventus for Samardzic

With Eljif Elmas on the verge of joining RB Leipzig for €25m, Napoli are turning their attention towards Udinese midfielder Lazar Samardzic, also a target for Juventus.

Multiple sources including the Corriere dello Sport and Fabrizio Romano are confident that the deal is imminent for the North Macedonia international to join RB Leipzig in the January transfer window.

With his departure, Napoli will be short-staffed in the middle of the park, especially if Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa is on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations next month.

Diego Demme barely plays and is expected to leave in January too, while Gianluca Gaetano is ready for another loan experience and Piotr Zielinski’s contract is running down.

According to Calciomercato.com, the plan for the Partenopei is to reinvest that €25m from the Elmas sale in purchasing Samardzic from Udinese.

This is hardly a new interest, as they had been pursuing him last year and were seemingly beaten to the punch by Inter, only for the whole deal to fall apart at the last minute over personal terms.

Udinese’s asking price for Samardzic is believed to now be at circa €25m and he is looking to leave, as his rapport with coach Gabriele Cioffi is said to be difficult.

Juventus are also chasing Samardzic, but Napoli have the funds and new coach Walter Mazzarri sees him as the heir to Zielinski.