Giovanni Manna, the director of Napoli, has stated that discussing rumors involving Kevin De Bruyne, a midfielder for Manchester City, would be “absurd.”
It was announced last month that the Belgium international’s ten-year tenure at the Etihad Stadium would end in June when his contract expired.
There has been discussion about a possible transfer to another Premier League team after the veteran hinted that the club, not him, decided not to extend his contract.
However, rumors surfaced last week that Napoli had taken a leading role in the competition for his services, aided by the fact that De Bruyne and his spouse were married in Naples and were admirers of the city.
The 33-year-old appearing in the sky blue of the Serie A title contenders in 2025–2026 thus appears to be a realistic possibility.
“It is only normal that we are looking around at opportunities,” he said, hinting that Napoli is quietly examining the market. “But I think it is absurd to talk about the transfer market now, when we are three games away from achieving a dream.”
“Having said that, it goes without saying that we are watching and being vigilant about potential threats.”
Manna was also responding to speculation regarding a potential transfer for Jonathan David, a forward for Lille who will eventually become available on a free transfer.
Due to their ability to have open pre-contract talks with players from other teams, Napoli is free to get in touch with both players if they so choose.
As Manna hinted at, the goal is to try to win the Serie A championship, with Napoli leading the standings by one point even after being held to a 2-2 draw by Genoa on Sunday.
They will, however, also admit that they cannot afford to lose any ground in the competition for De Bruyne, knowing that signing him would be considered a significant coup.
Despite their desire to watch the outcome of the Serie A title race, Napoli would become the best-performing Italian team of the past three years if they were to win the title after winning the 2022–2023 championship.