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Goran Pandev: is he staying at Napoli, or is he off to greener pastures? Guess what? No one knows!
Earlier today, the Tottenham SB Nation blog wrote about the possibility of Pandev washing up at Spurs. No surprise here - they weren't thrilled with the idea. Particularly since the rumor included the idea that Erik Lamela or Sandro would be included as some sort of makeweight in the deal.
That sounds fantastic for Napoli fans. Why not find someone like Daniel Levy to pay actual money for Pandev, and give us a decent player as well?
Then, mere hours later, came the quotes from Pandev's agent. Rather than talking up the possibility that his client is wanted by multiple sides in England, as agents are wont to do, he spoke about the Macedonian's desire to end his career with Napoli. Turns out Pandev now thinks of himself as a Neapolitan and really doesn't want to head off for greener pastures.
Understandable. Why leave the sun and the pizza and the espresso and the pizza to head off to gloomy old England?
Except...that means Pandev will be sticking around. If Napoli want him, of course. He's currently under contract until June 2015, so it's best to either extend that by a year or sell him off now, while he still has some value.
And let's be honest. Pandev does have some value. In addition to earning the most penalties in Serie A this season (it really is a talent!) he did manage to score a few (seven) goals as well. The problem is, he's not a vice-Higuain, and he never will be.
With Champions League and Coppa defense next season, Napoli are going to need to continue to expand their squad. Keeping Pandev around makes sense, especially since Rafa Benítez seems to love him. But if that happens, the club also need to bring in a true center forward to act as a second for Pipita. While Duván Zapata has had his moments, it just doesn't seem like he's there yet.
What do you think? Who would you love to come in at center-forward? Who do you think is realistically available? Or do you think Duván is already up for the challenge?