LONDON: Kevin De Bruyne wants Napoli manager Antonio Conte to reunite him with former Manchester City teammate Jack Grealish.
Conte reportedly asked De Bruyne his opinion on Grealish, whose future at the Etihad has become increasingly uncertain after being dropped from Pep Guardiola’s Club World Cup squad.
De Bruyne, 33, who joined the Serie A club earlier this month, hopes his positive opinion of Grealish will encourage Conte to also sign the creative midfielder.
Manchester City are reportedly willing to take a huge loss on the £100 million they spent to buy Grealish from Aston Villa four years ago.
Grealish, 29, is also expected to take a big pay cut as Napoli can only afford to pay just over half of his £300,000 weekly wage.
However, the player is willing to accept a lower salary if a move to Italy opens up an opportunity for him to attract the interest of England manager Thomas Tuchel ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Everton are also interested in making Grealish their main signing in conjunction with the move to their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock – but the lure of playing in Italy with Napoli is said to be stronger.
According to SunSport, Napoli are willing to spend £45 million to land either Grealish or Alejandro Garnacho from Manchester United but will only buy one player.
The Serie A champions are likely to start their title defence with six former Premier League players in their starting line-up.
Scott McTominay’s previous transfer from Manchester United was so successful that he was named Serie A Player of the Year.
He partnered in midfield with Billy Gilmour, a former Chelsea and Brighton player.
Their main striker, Romelu Lukaku is also a former United and Chelsea player.
Bournemouth’s Philip Billing also joined Napoli in January in a move that could become permanent.
Manchester City are also open to releasing Grealish on loan, as long as there is a commitment to buy him permanently afterwards.