Napoli is close to signing Kevin De Bruyne as a free agent, because the Serie A champions also hold their title-winning coach Antonio Conte.
Asked by reporters late on Thursday evening, said Napoli's sports director Giovanni Manna that De Bruyne was “fairly closed” to become a member of Romelu Lukaku, Scott Mctominay and Billy Gilmour in relocation to Italy from the Premier League.
Earlier this month, De Bruyne ended a period of 10 years in Manchester City, where he won six Premier League titles and the Champions League 2023.
De Bruyne, 33, will have Conte as his coach after he and Napoli ended for weeks of speculation by confirming that he would stay to defend the Scudetto.
Conte was tipped for a return to Juventus, where he spent most of his trophy-loaded play career and won three league titles as a coach, after he has publicly buried the Running of the club by film Mogulio Aurelio de Laurentiis.
“At the end of every season, coach and club always come together to judge last season, to see if there is a shared vision and whether there is still the desire to continue to certain goals,” Conte told Sky Sport.
“We have a contract and since we have a shared vision, we have nothing else to add. We are going ahead because we are serious people.”
Conte, which has a contract until 2027, has brought about a revolution in Napoli since he was in charge of a club that is still faltering of a disastrous defense of the title of 2023 that ended with a 10th placed finish.
The 55-year-old has the best from Lukaku and in particular McTominay who went to Napoli and Naples like a duck to water after arriving from Manchester United.