Benevento director Pasquale Foggia reveals Fernando Llorente ‘would be best for us’ and will try for Giacomo Bonaventura, but Marek Hamsik is ‘too complex’.
Benevento are running away with the Serie B title and their attentions have naturally turned to next season in Serie A, with Napoli striker Llorente at the top of their wishlist.
“He’s a player who would be best for us,” Foggia told Il Mattino.
Napoli have announced they’ll wear a special edition jersey against Verona marking the new club all-time scorers’ record set by Dries Mertens.
The shirt will include a patch created for the occasion and will also be sold to the general public after the Serie A match.
With his Coppa Italia semi-final equaliser against Inter, Mertens took his tally to 122 goals in the Napoli jersey, one more than previous record-holder Marek Hamsik.
This will be reflected in the patch, whose design at the moment is kept secret.
Former Napoli captain Marek Hamsik believes ‘I could’ve been wonderful’ in Gennaro Gattuso’s team of Coppa Italia winners.
Napoli initially struggled for form under Gattuso after he replaced Carlo Ancelotti in December, but they have gone on to lose just one of their last 11 games, among them a penalties victory over Juventus in the Coppa Italia Final.
“There’s a compactness that those who play football perceive instantly,” Hamsik, who now plays in China for Dalian Professional, told Il Mattino.
The last time Napoli and Juventus met in a Coppa Italia Final was May 20, 2012, also the Partenopei's first piece of silverware since the Diego Maradona era.
It was Aurelio De Laurentiis who could celebrate after the final whistle, as Edinson Cavani and Marek Hamsik provided a 2-0 win at the Stadio Olimpico.
Cavani opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 63 minutes, his fifth goal in the competition, before Hamsik added the second in the 83rd.
Marek Hamsik’s agent says the midfielder is ‘very happy’ Dries Mertens broke Napoli’s goalscoring record and that he could return after he retires.
Hamsik was the highest scorer in Napoli’s history with 122 goals, but he was finally beaten last night by Mertens, whose equaliser against Inter also ensured the Partenopei reached their first Coppa Italia Final since 2014.
“Dries and Marek are close friends,” Juri Venglos told Radio Kiss Kiss.
Dries Mertens has made history, as his goal against Inter this evening allowed him to surpass Marek Hamsik as Napoli’s all-time top scorer.
It is a wonderful way for the 33-year-old Belgian to celebrate his imminent contract extension at the Stadio San Paolo.
Mertens had been on a par with Hamsik after finding the net 121 times in the Partenopei jersey when the lockdown brought football to a halt for three months.
Former Inter President Massimo Moratti admits he ‘would’ve liked to see Dries Mertens alongside Romelu Lukaku’ at San Siro, just as he’d tried to sign Marek Hamsik.
Mertens had been very close to agreeing terms with the Nerazzurri, but a couple of weeks ago found the breakthrough to extend his contract at the Stadio San Paolo.
“I would’ve liked to see Mertens at Inter, as I think he’d have been the ideal partner for Romelu Lukaku,” Moratti told Radio Kiss Kiss.
Napoli forward Dries Mertens helps the city in their fight against coronavirus by donating his record-equalling shirt from the match against Barcelona.
The Belgian attacker has decided to help the Cannavaro-Ferrara foundation by auctioning the shirt he wore when scoring against the Blaugrana in the last 16 of the Champions League this term, equalling the all-time goalscoring record at Napoli, joining Marek Hamsik at the top of the list.
Inter defender Milan Skriniar has been awarded Footballer of the Year in Slovakia and joked that he hopes Marek Hamsik “isn’t angry with me”.
Due to the Coronavirus outbreak in Europe, the 20th edition of the award ceremony couldn’t be arranged like it normally would.
But the Slovakian FA still handed out the award in collaboration with the newspaper Pravda, counting the votes from the coaches and sports journalists.
Dries Mertens has equalled Marek Hamsik as Napoli’s greatest goal scorer in the club’s history with 121 goals, matching the record against Barcelona.
The Belgian international scored his 120th for the club in the 1-0 over Cagliari earlier this month, which took him to within one of the former Napoli midfielder.
Now Mertens has matches the record with his goal against Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 at the Stadio San Paolo.
