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It's no secret that Napoli are looking to unload Valon Behrami this summer. The Switzerland international had a shockingly poor season last year, one that also featured a falling-out with teammate Gokhan Inler. He just doesn't seem to fit in with Rafa Benitez from a tactical perspective, and the club seems to want to replace him with a player who fits their needs better.
Now, after a training-ground row with Rafa and some teammates over the weekend, the final straw seems to have been drawn. Enter German side Hamburg SV:
HSV have made a €4.5m bid for Napoli's Valon Behrami, according to Hamburger Abendblatt.
— Daniel Busch (@dan_bu) July 29, 2014
You probably haven't heard of the Hamburger Abendblatt before, but that doesn't mean you should discount what they have to say. They're a paper that's well connected with their local Bundesliga side, and have consistently been ahead of the curve when it comes to reporting transfer dealings (especially when Rafael Van Der Vaart moved from Tottenham Hotspur to HSV two years ago), and never seem to report things like this without significant reason to.
The bid itself isn't that great; Napoli supposedly want closer to €8 million for Behrami after spending that much on him two years ago to get him from Fiorentina. Still, it's a good starting point, and it's likely no coincidence that it comes on the heels of Riccardo Bigon heading to Germany yesterday.
It's also been variously reported recently that HSV are interested in Blerim Dzemaili, though Behrami seems like their main focus. The German side is desperate to upgrade a porous midfield pivot after only barely staving off relegation last season. Behrami can certainly help in that regard, and so could Dzei to some extent.