Sassuolo try to snatch Duvan Zapata away from Sampdoria

Duvan Zapata is a hot commodity in Serie A right now, with both Sampdoria and Sassuolo reportedly vying for his signature right now, with their competition creating an interesting opportunity for Napoli to get options for themselves — literally.

Sampdoria have been after Zapata the longest, hoping to use the big Colombian to replace the newly-departed Patrcik Schick. But despite being reportedly close to a deal that would have seen them take Zapta, Ivan Strinic, and Lorenzo Tonelli, Samp’s hopes have been at least been partly dashed, because Sassuolo have swooped in late with an intriguing bid for Zapata.

The neroverdi need a big striker as well, and they’re apparently willing to put up an intriguing option in order to get Napoli to sell. Supposedly in order to help bring Napoli’s fee demands down a bit, they’re willing to give the partenopei a right of first refusal on young Italian star Domenico Berardi, a player who’s been in high demand in recent years, and that Napoli has long been intrigued in.

Now, such an option is not a guarantee that Napoli would get Berardi. Sassuolo would still have to accept an offer placed on him to trigger the first refusal option, and Napoli might not even be able to match that bid, or Berardi might not be interested in taking whatever Napoli offer him in a contract versus whatever the other team is offering. So Napoli shouldn’t take too much off whatever they’re asking for the sake of getting that option — but it’s definitely better to have such an option than not.

It’s an interesting situation to be in. Sampdoria might be able to give Napoli a little more money now, but Sassuolo can help Napoli get a piece that could be very useful for them next season and beyond. Hopefully Napoli can make the most of this deal one way or the other, because they’ve got some intriguing options on the table.