Report: Napoli and Cagliari agree Davide Astori transfer

Just over a day after reports first picked up that Napoli had leapt in feet-first into negotiations with Cagliari for Davide Astori, now comes a new report: they've agreed a transfer fee for the divisive central midfielder.

According to Sky Italia transfer guru Gianluca Di Marzio, Napoli and Cagliari have come to terms on a €5.5 million transfer fee for Astori. Before the transfer can be finalized, however, Napoli and Astori must first agree to a contract -- to that end, Di Marzio reports Napoli have offered him a four year contract worth a little under €1 million per season, which actually represents a slight step back wage-wise for the 28 year old.

Still, with Astori hopefully serving mostly as a backup and not seeming to have any other Serie A suitors, he's probably not going to do better, especially after his struggles over the past two seasons. It's not a great signing for Napoli, but as a backup option Astori isn't awful. As long as another central defender comes in to help boost the club's starting quality in the middle, this signing won't really hurt anything.

Expect this deal to move fairly quickly. Cagliari need the money from this transfer to retool their squad for a Serie B campaign, and Astori needs this transfer so as to not get stuck down there with them. It'd be nice if Napoli were signing a better option, but, well, at least they're not spending Miguel Britos money on him.