Napoli star Lorenzo Insigne shows Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho how to deal with interest from Barcelona

The Italian has also been linked with Liverpool and Chelsea but chose his words carefully 

Jim Daly
Wednesday 23 August 2017 11:10 BST
Comments
Insigne claims a move to Barca would be "a dream" but wants to stay at Napoli
Insigne claims a move to Barca would be "a dream" but wants to stay at Napoli (GETTY IMAGES)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

If Philippe Coutinho wants to know the perfect way of dealing with interest from Barcelona he can do worse than look at Napoli star Lorenzo Insigne.

The 26-year-old Italian international is one of a host of players, along with Coutinho, linked with the Spanish giants, looking to spend some of the £198million they were handed by PSG for Neymar.

Coutinho hasn't featured for Jurgen Klopp's side so far this season after trying to push a move through a move to Catalonia, submitting a transfer request by email. Liverpool have rejected multiple bids from Barca for their no.10 despite his clear interest in the move.

Insigne helped Napoli cruise into the groups stages of the Champions League with a 2-0 win over Mario Batlotelli's Nice on Tuesday night, completing a 4-0 aggregate victory and afterwards was asked about interest from the Catalan giants.

The £60m-rated attacking midfielder, who has also been linked with Liverpool and Chelsea, welcomed the interest but claimed he wanted to stay in Naples.

"I thank you for the compliments, but I want to keep doing well with this shirt because I always wanted it," he told Mediaset Premium. "Barcelona is the dream for everyone but for now I have the dream of Naples with me."

Coutinho, meanwhile, is coming to terms with the fact he may have to remain at Liverpool for now, as The Independent revealed yesterday the Reds will not sell him

He is planning clear-the-air talks with members of the Anfield hierarchy, while manager Klopp later confirmed that he would "100 per cent" welcome the player back into the fold.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in