Wednesday, 15th October, 2014
Graziano Pelle's agent has admitted Napoli were an option for his client in the summer, but the presence of Gonzalo Higuain steered his client away from returning to Italy.
Pelle, who was prolific with Dutch side Feyenoord last term, was linked with a switch to Napoli in the summer window, but ended up joining Premier League side Southampton.
Pelle's agent Romualdo Corvino admits Rafael Benitez's men were an interesting option for his client, however stressed that it would have been tough for the Italian to take a central role at Napoli with Higuain leading the attack.
"During the transfer market Napoli came into the discussions for Pelle, but that faltered", the agent told Radio Crc.
"We evaluated what was a historic moment with Napoli and my client showed in the Netherlands, where he scored 50 goals in 56 games, that he had a market valuation which led to important requests from many European clubs which gave him the opportunity to be a central element in the group", Corvino continued.
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"At Napoli however this could not have happened due to the presence of Higuain.
"Among other things, Napoli have another target man, Duvan Zapata, and this is why the club decided to focus on Michu, who has different characteristics from the other strikers."
Pelle has made a bright start to life at Southampton, earning a first senior Italy call as a result.
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