Over the last week, Napoli revisited the idea of signing Elseid Hysaj, something they tried to do back when they signed Mirko Valdifiori but were quickly stonewalled by Empoli. They didn't want to be raided by their former manager, the said, and letting one player go was quite enough thank you very much.
More recently, though, the Albanian's club has been open to the idea of letting Hysaj go, and so it was that Napoli were able to agree to a reported €5 million -- plus potential bonuses variously reported as around €2 million -- transfer fee earlier this week. There were still some other details to sort out, though, so he hasn't signed yet -- but now things are set to such a point that he's left Empoli training and is headed to join up with Napoli to take his medical and sign his contract.
Especially for a young player who's never had any major injury issues, the medical should just be a formality for Hysaj. He's expected to sign a five-year contract, tying him to Napoli until 2020, and at fairly modest wages to boot. It's an excellent signing for Napoli, snapping up a high-upside player at a position of need, and who already has first-division experience. There's nothing not to like here, really. Now we just wait for the signing, and then it's time to sit back and enjoy the show.
