Napoli interested in Sokratis

Napoli are interested in signing Sokratis, as per the Italian club’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis via Fabrizio Romano. 

The Naples based side could lose Kalidou Koulibaly this summer with Manchester City said to be interested in the player. They want to strengthen their defence and Sokratis has been identified as their chief target.

Arsenal will listen to offers for the Greek central defender this summer. The Gunners recently signed Gabriel from Lille for £27 million and are open to letting some of their existing options in defence like Sokratis, Holding and Mustafi leave the club. The North London club are currently in talks with Napoli regarding the former Borussia Dortmund defender. 

Sokratis signed for Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund for £17.6 million in July 2018. Since joining the club, he has made 69 appearances. He was a mainstay in the first team during his debut season at the club but saw his game time reduced last season. In the 2019/20 campaign, he made 29 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners.

The Greece international is a popular figure in the Arsenal dressing room and among the fans but is likely to see opportunities limited in the first team this season. It remains to be seen if Koulibaly will leave Naples in the next month but the Italian side have their eyes firmly on Sokratis. Napoli manager Gennaro Gattuso played with him at AC Milan.