Napoli Interfere with Milan as Liverpool Track Defender | OneFootball

Liverpool have laid eyes on Sam Beukema, and in a corresponding move, Napoli have taken an interest in Mario Gila, who’s been extensively linked to Milan and more recently to Juventus and Atletico Madrid.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Partenopei are pondering quickly parting ways with the Dutch defender, who hasn’t lived up to expectations so far. They paid €31M to snap him up after he flourished with Bologna. However, he’s been a regular only when other center-backs were missing.

Liverpool coach Arne Slot is well familiar with Beukema, as he was helming Feyenoord when the defender burst onto the scene at AZ, and a €30M or so offer could entice Napoli to cut bait before his valuation plummets, and they have set their sights on Gila as a possible replacement.

The Spaniard is likely to leave due to his short-term contract, but the talks regarding his exit will heat up only after the upcoming Coppa Italia final. The Azzurri would like to shave their payroll, and he’d help with that, since he’s currently making €1.1M. Even a conspicuous pay bump wouldn’t be a problem. Instead, Lazio will look to cash in as much as possible. They have to give Real Madrid half the income. The two Italian sides have never been able to do business together in recent years.

Our Take on Napoli, Liverpool, Beukema, and Gila

The latter is clearly being shopped around to obtain the highest possible sum. It’ll be a straightforward bidding war. The former has had a very underwhelming campaign, considering what he showed at Bologna. He’d deserve another chance, but it might take a new coach and a different system for him to bounce back properly.