Napoli need to take a chance and pursue Barcelona defender Marc Bartra

An interesting opportunity has arisen for Napoli, and they need to pounce on it while they still can: Barcelona defender Marc Bartra is available fairly cheaply, and he would be massively helpful for the partenopei.

Bartra is good young center back who's stuck behind some excellent veterans at the Camp Nou, and because of that the release clause in his contract is, temporarily, dramatically lower than normal. As confirmed by his agent in an interview, Bartra's release clause can be triggered with just a €12 million bid, forcing Barcelona to allow any team that bids that much to open negotiations with the 24 year old for a new contract.

Napoli need to trigger that release clause.

Ask a Napoli fan what positions the club needs to reinforce this summer, and the first thing most of them will say is "center back." If you want a defender with an excellent blend of current skill, potential skill, and affordability, you'd be hard-pressed to come up with a better option than Bartra this summer, and he would be a massive addition to this side.

Of course, triggering the release clause is no guarantee that Napoli would get him. They'd still have to agree to a contract with him, and while they can afford to give him a healthy raise, he may still decide that he'd rather stay put or go elsewhere. His agent certainly seemed open to a move -- even to Italy, given rumored interest from Inter -- and Napoli would offer him an excellent place to grow and develop as a player, so it's not completely out of the realm of possibility that it could happen.

It'd be a gutsy move. There's no risk for Napoli to try it -- the worst thing that can happen is that Bartra says no -- but so much potential reward if he signs. They'll have to move fast though; according to his agent, Bartra's release clause is only at €12 million until July 1st, so they need to start putting things together now in order to make a run at the defender.