Napoli could sell Neres in January just as he returns for Torino

David Neres could leave Napoli as soon as January. There is interest in him back home in Brazil, and the club is considering a sale.

The timing matters. Neres is one of the players expected back for Napoli-Torino at the Maradona on Saturday 21 November, kick-off 20:45 CET. From Saturday 14 November he returns to partial training with the group, along with Favasuli and Spinazzola.

Napoli are tenth on 15 points. They are 9 points off fourth place, the target Allegri set himself, and have gone three games without a win. In that context the number 7 was one of the few options about to return. Now it seems he may be a short-term one.

The list of departures grows

Neres joins Lang and Lucca, the two players the club has already put up for sale for January. For now there are no significant offers for Lucca. For Lang, €15-20m could be enough, and Ajax, Galatasaray, Atalanta and Genoa are all interested.

Neres was already on the list of sales the club hopes will fund its January business, alongside De Bruyne and Anguissa. Paying for new signings would take at least three major sales. The club needs cash, and the players with a market are the first to go up for sale.

When he is fit, Neres is a winger who beats his man, has pace and scores if you put him in the right position, on the right, where his talent counts most. The trouble is the times when he is not fit.

There is a question worth asking, though. Since the start of the season, nineteen Napoli players have had physical problems, almost 80% of the squad. If injuries are the reason to sell him, the conversation should also cover how the team trains, not just him. With numbers like these, selling the players who get hurt looks more like hiding the problem than solving it.

Two wingers on the radar

Napoli are following two wingers. The more concrete option is Alessio Cacciamani, 19, of Torino. De Laurentiis has got involved personally, a sign of how much he wants the deal. Torino have already pushed back, though. Cairo is asking €45m, and the player will not move in January. Any talks will resume in the summer. That the most concrete name is also the one Napoli cannot sign in January says a lot about where the deal stands.

The other is Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, 22, an Englishman who joined Chelsea in summer 2025. Napoli are watching him closely and he could be an opportunity in January, as Chelsea may let him go on loan or on favourable terms.

The window reopens on 2 January. Before that come Torino at the Maradona, Manchester City at the Etihad on Tuesday 24 November and Sassuolo on 29 November. Napoli need Neres for those three games, and they need him on the pitch.