Di Marzio: Napoli "Wants To Shock" Europe

Napoli have been busy little bees lately, putting the finishing touches on a move to acquire Michu on loan from Swansea City and making the opening overtures to try and get Lucas Leiva from Liverpool on a similar deal. They're both smart moves that are easy to like, but according to one of the industry's top rumor mongers, the club has much loftier goals in mind for this summer, and for the season as well.

According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Napoli "wants to shock" Europe with what they think they'll be able to accomplish this summer and the upcoming season. While he doesn't go in to detail as to what exactly that means, it's not hard to figure out: they want to make a big, splashy signing and ride that player (and the rest of their summer signings) to a Scudetto in Serie A and/or a very deep run in the Champions League.

It's hard to say where a splashy transfer would come from, though; Michu and Lucas are good, but they're not that good. There's been continued interest in Andre Ayew, but he's in that same boat. About the only player Napoli have been linked with who would qualify as a "shock" signing would be AS Monaco's James Rodriguez, arguably the star of the World Cup despite Colombia falling to Brazil in the quarter finals.

It's hard to see a move for Rodriguez happening, though. For starters, it would take a ludicrous amount of money to sign him from Monaco, then you'd have to sign him to what would presumably a very large contract. Napoli were able to do that a year ago when they signed Gonzalo Higuain from Real Madrid, but that was with Cavani money floating around. They don't have that this year, making an even more expensive signing unlikely at best.

There's also the minor niggle that, despite Rodriguez' agent talking about Napoli twice in media interviews recently, the player himself recently expressed his "lifelong" love of Real Madrid and his desire to play there some day. Given that that admission came on the heels of Real Madrid reportedly lodging an inquiry with Monaco as to what it would take to acquire the Colombian dynamo, it's likely only a matter of time before he's pulling on a white shirt at the Bernabeu.

So we put the question to you, dear readers: who do you think Napoli will sign that will "shock" European football?