De Laurentiis: Option of Fellaini transfer is "on the table"

For those of you who feat a potential move for Marouane Fellaini, look away now. Rumors exploded on Monday that Napoli were pushing hard for the Belgian international, and that a deal was imminent, but both Napoli and Fellaini's representatives denied that reported negotiations had taken place.

That might have changed now, with Aurelio De Laurentiis confirming on Radio Kiss Kiss earlier today that Napoli are considering Fellaini as an option "among others" being considered. Apparently Rafa and his staff believe they can fix whatever went so horribly wrong for Fellaini last season, and take him from a wild, uncontrolled wreck and turn him in to an actual, productive footballer.

There were reports yesterday that Dries Mertens has been in constant communitcation with Fellaini the last few days, working on convincing him to come to Naples. We already know that Dries has worked on Thomas Vermalen and Jan Vetonghen to some extent this summer, so it's no surprise to hear that the man who loves Naples so much would be recruiting another one of his national squad teammates.

The fit for Fellaini isn't a clean one for Napoli given his current limitations as a player, but if Rafa and company are convinced that they can make it work, we'll have to take their word on faith. Though maintaining a healthy does of skepticism might be a fair idea under the circumstances. The other difficulty is with his wages; Fellaini would be the second-highest paid player on the roster under his current contract, and it's doubtful he'd take much, if any, of a paycut to come to Italy. There was a report, however, that Napoli would want Manchester United to contribute to his wages should Fellaini make the move, so if that pans out things might not be quite so rough as feared on the financial front.

On a more lighthearted note, De Laurentiis couldn't resist the opportunity to crack a joke when talking about Fellaini, saying that his infamous afro was "like a lion's mane" and that it would "balance out" the shaved pate of Gokhan Inler. Ever the joker, our De La.