“Extremely important player” – Napoli director heaps praise on Juventus stalwart amidst transfer talk | OneFootball

Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna only had good things to say about Juventus captain Danilo, albeit he remained coy on his club’s market plans.

The Brazilian defender lost his starting berth since the arrival of Thiago Motta who preferred other players at the back, the likes of Federico Gatti, Pierre Kalulu and Nicolo Savona. The veteran was able to earn some playing time following a ravaging injury crisis that hit the backline, but his displays weren’t always impressive.

Therefore, the two parties have seemingly decided to cut their ties as soon as possible rather than wait for the player’s contract to expire at the end of the season. The club dropped him from the Italian Super Cup squad, which proved to be a brief trip in any case following Friday’s defeat to Milan in the semi-final.

While it remains to be seen if Danilo will return to the fold for next weekend’s Derby della Mole, he continues to be heavily linked with a move to Napoli, with Manna, who only recently left Juventus, reportedly pushing for a reunion with the Brazil captain.

The Napoli sporting director was interrogated about the situation ahead of his club’s clash against Fiorentina which ended in a 3-0 victory for the Partenopei. The 36-year-old diligently avoided discussing the market, considering it ‘disrespectful’ at this stage, but his praise towards Danilo might hint that a move is indeed in the makings.

“I find it a bit disrespectful to talk about the market at this moment, as we are in the midst of an extremely positive run,” said Manna in his interview with DAZN via IlBianconero. “Talking about negotiations is not correct, because it belittles a group that has done very well.

“Danilo is an extremely important player who is going through a complicated situation but we are focused on ourselves. Talking about it now would be unsavoury.”

Danilo has been at Juventus since the summer of 2019. He scored his first goal for the club on his debut which was curiously against Napoli.