Napoli and Meret could discuss contract renewal by year's end

Alex Meret's contract at Napoli runs out in June 2027, and the next move that matters will not come on the pitch but around a table: Napoli and the goalkeeper's agent could meet before the end of the year to work out whether there is a basis for a new deal, or whether the two sides go their separate ways after nine seasons together.

The opening weeks of the season backed him up. His start between the posts gave encouraging signs before an injury forced him to stop. Now the aim is to get back available, and the latest word points that way: Meret is considered close to full fitness and likely to start in goal for Napoli-Frosinone, the sixth round of Serie A, at the Maradona on Saturday 10 October.

In the background, the question of Napoli's goalkeeper of the future is still open. The club has long been watching Lorenzo Palmisani, born in 2004, the Under-21 starter and Frosinone's own goalkeeper — Saturday's opponent.

That is where the situation gets complicated. The club is weighing up a possible heir while the current number one is still waiting to sit down over a renewal. It is not a glaring contradiction — every club keeps an eye on the market — but it is a signal that the goalkeeper's shirt at Napoli is not considered a closed matter, even after nine seasons of mutual trust. A supporter putting the two stories together might ask a simple question: how much is continuity worth to the club right now, against an alternative growing elsewhere.

Neither path is settled yet. Meret has chosen to put the pitch before the contract, Napoli is waiting until the end of the year for talks with his agent, and the team go into Napoli-Frosinone ninth in the table with 7 points from 5 games, in need of certainties more than new questions. The issue can stay open for a few more months — not forever.