Benfica can match any bid for Varela as Monza value him at €30-40m
Benfica kept a 20% sell-on clause and a right to match when they sold the Portuguese striker to Monza in the summer. Napoli's route to him is narrower than it looked.
Napoli are not only dealing with Monza in their pursuit of Gustavo Varela. When Monza signed the 2005-born striker from Benfica in the summer, they paid just €2m plus €1.5m in bonuses and gave him a contract to 2030. Benfica kept two levers: 20% of any future sale, calculated on the difference between the final fee and the original price, and the right to match any offer from another club.
In practice, if Napoli made a formal offer, Monza would have to tell Benfica straight away, and Benfica could take Varela back to Lisbon on the same terms. Monza, meanwhile, value the player at €30-40m and would rather keep him at least until the end of the season. That is a long way from the €15m plus Lucca or Giovane on loan that was being discussed until Wednesday 11 November.
Read also Napoli are Italy's best-run club and free to buy in January, says Mondellini
The numbers explain why Napoli are pushing for such a complicated deal. Varela has scored 9 goals in 10 games, one of them against Napoli. Højlund is stuck on 3 goals in 13 appearances and Lucca has yet to score. The striker Allegri asked for in the summer never arrived.
Now Napoli are looking for one where another club has the right to match them.
Source: AreaNapoli
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