Mercato Madness: Allan in, Jorginho out for Napoli's midfield?

With a new manager comes change, and Maurizio Sarri will certainly be bringing that with him. Changes in style, formation, attitude, tactics, all of it. That kind of change will also demand changes in personnel, as not everyone currently with the squad fits his vision and methods.

That means that a few players, even fan favorites, will be on their way out this summer, and that parade out of Naples could start with Jorginho. The Brazilian midfielder made a huge impact in his first half-season with Napoli and started this past season strong, but his form slipped in mid-season and he found himself send to the purgatory of the bench for months by Rafa Benitez with little to no hope of redemption.

When Jorginho did play again later in the season, he alternated been rusty -- shocking, right? -- and looking like he was headed back for the disciplined, quality midfielder we'd grown to love. But the end of the season saw Jorginho leave a sour taste in fans' mouths, including an awful defensive mistake that gave up a crucial goal, a moment that was made worse by a show of needless petulance.

That might have Jorginho set to leave the club this summer -- his agent certainly doesn't sound confident that he'll stay put -- and Napoli might already be working on a replacement for him in Udinese midfielder Allan. The 24 year old Brazilian has been impressive over the last three years with the zebrette, with an industrious workrate and a well-rounded skillset that looks to be in demand at the moment. Napoli are confirmed to be in talks with Udinese over a potential transfer, and it'd be hard to argue with Napoli getting him.

Udinese supposedly want around €15 million for him, a reasonable sum for a midfielder of Allan's skills and relative youth. The midfielder himself is supposedly pushing for a deal with Inter instead, but Napoli can arguably offer him more in the short term on a competitive basis and a better platform to build on as a player. Sarri can make him a central figure for his new Napoli side, and it'd be hard to turn that down for the eternal chaos that has been Inter over the last few years.

Either Jorginho leaving or Allan arriving is far from set in stone just yet, but there's a lot of reason to think either or both could happen. Getting Allan would be a great start to the summer for Napoli, and while losing Jorginho's potential could sting, it could wind up being a good thing for the club in the long run.