Valdifiori transfer hits snag over contract clause

On Wednesday, we learned that Napoli had come to terms with Empoli on a deal to sign Mirko Valdifiori. On Thursday, that deal is suddenly on the rocks, after Valdifiori objected to a a clause in the contract offered to him by Napoli.

The clause in question apparent restricts his ability to turn down a transfer away from his new club in the next two years if Napoli should decide to move him on. It's a fairly reasonable position to stand on -- Valdifiori would be taking a risk by uprooting his career from the place that's put him on the radar, so having some measure of security and control over his time at his new club would probably be desirable.

It's an odd type of clause to insert, and it's totally understandable to object to. What Napoli hopes to gain by including it is a mystery, and obviously it hasn't exactly gone over well. It's putting the deal at risk, and with Torino strongly interested in the Valdifiori, they could easily swoop in and take him out from under Napoli's nose, especially now that they know the fee needed to get Empoli to let him go.

The word earlier in the day was that Valdifiori was likely to sign on Friday, but that was before this clause came in to the game. Now that it's an issue, who knows where things go from here. Valdifiori isn't a star that it would hurt Napoli to lose out on by any means, but his knowledge of Sarri's tactics in midfield would be immensely useful to helping the rest of the midfield adapt. They need to get this sorted out, and fast.