Napoli 'to make shock move for Brighton's Billy Gilmour'

4 months ago 26

Antonio Conte has already begun an overhaul of his squad before the season
Gilmour has impressed at Brighton, playing 32 games in the last campaign

By Milo Pope

Published: 13:34 BST, 20 July 2024 | Updated: 13:38 BST, 20 July 2024

Napoli look set to make a shock move for Brighton midfielder Billy Gilmour before the start of the season.

Manager Antonio Conte worked with Gilmour at Chelsea, which is where the 23-year-old made his breakthrough.

Gilmour has impressed at Brighton so far, where he made 32 appearances in the league last season, and is expected to have two years left on his contract.

But, Conte is understood to be keen to bolster his midfield options following an overhaul of his squad, the Telegraph reports.

Conte has so far signed Alessandro Buongiorno from Torino, Rafa Marín from Real Madrid and Leonardo Spinazzola from Roma for a combined total of £40m.

Napoli are reportedly lining up a shock move for Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour

Antonio Conte previously worked with Gilmour while he was the manager of Chelsea

Earlier this week it was revealed that Paris Saint-Germain are becoming 'increasingly confident' they can formalise an £84million (€100m) deal to sign Victor Osimhen from Napoli.

Chelsea and Arsenal - both in need of attacking firepower - had both been interested in snapping up the 25-year-old centre forward, with Enzo Maresca's side having been heavily linked with a move for the forward.

With Kylian Mbappe now moving to Real Madrid this summer, it seems PSG have freed up some funds and are looking to invest in the transfer market to bolster their attacking options up top.

According to Italian outlet SPORT Mediaset, the deal is 'near a turning point' with the Nigerian's agent Roberto Calenda having 'flown to Paris to speak directly with PSG.'

Napoli owner, Aurelio De Laurentiis had reportedly placed a price tag of around £109million on the Nigerian star but PSG's lower offer is 'still capable of unblocking the deal.'

Osimhen had signed a contract extension to stay at Napoli until 2026 back in 2023, extending his stay at the Serie A side by another season.

He has enjoyed a fruitful spell in Naples, since arriving back in 2020 from Lille.

Across 133 appearances for the club in all competitions he has scored a whopping 76 goals, with Osimhen helping Napoli clinch the league title during the 2022-23 season, having netted 26 goals during the season.