Anguissa contract talks break down as Napoli set €6-7m January price

Anguissa and Napoli are two million a season and one contract year apart. The midfielder wants €6m a year over four years. The club is offering €4m a year over three. That is €24m against €12m, so he is asking for twice what is on the table.

The renewal first stalled over wages in the summer, after his agent Maxime Nana visited the pre-season camp at Castel di Sangro. What is new is that both sides' figures are now known, and they are far apart.

His contract expires on 30 June 2027. That makes the winter window, which runs from 2 January to 20:00 CET on 2 February, the last chance to get a fee for him before he is free to negotiate with any club.

A telling number

The €6-7m figure set for Anguissa is the same threshold at which a deal with PSV for De Bruyne could go ahead. Within a few days, two starters in midfield have been given almost identical exit prices, and low ones. Both played against Lazio on 8 November, a 1-1 draw settled by Frattesi and an own goal from Pedraza.

January is expected to be a window of swaps, funded by sales, and at least three significant departures would be needed. Anguissa at that price helps the sums. It does not fix them.

What worries us more is who replaces him. Lobotka is out with a left ankle injury until mid-December. The names being tracked for the post-Anguissa era are Bakola of Sassuolo, born in 2007, and Coulibaly of Monaco. Each would cost at least €30m. Selling at €6-7m and buying at €30m only works with a clear plan.

There is also a condition attached to any January signings: Napoli must be within four, at most five, points of fourth place. As of Sunday 15 November the gap is nine. If that condition is not met, the risk is that the midfield loses players and gains none.

Not only the player's fault

The club has a case on his demands. €6m a year for four years is a heavy commitment for a contract that long. But the responsibility does not lie only with the player. Napoli have reached the brink of his contract's final stretch with the renewal stalled for months, and in effect the calendar has set the price, not the club.

That leaves supporters with an awkward question. This side is tenth with 15 points from 11 games, the lowest tally of the De Laurentiis era, level with 2007/08. Does it make sense to talk about a midfield clearance sale before deciding who the team is being rebuilt around?

Before the window comes the pitch. Abate's Torino visit the Maradona on Saturday 21 November at 20:45 CET (19:45 UK, 14:45 ET). It is the first home game since the supporters' protest against Lazio, and Napoli have gone three matches without a win. Everything else depends on that, and on 30 November, when the commission that checks clubs' accounts is due to give its verdict.