Napoli eye move for Portugal's Rui Patricio

Bengaluru, April 30: Napoli are lining up a potential bid to secure the signing of Portuguese and Sporting Lisbon keeper Rui Patricio in the summer, according to reports in media. The Naples based side are reportedly weighing up a move for a new keeper.

This decision appeared after their veteran first-choice keeper Pepe Reina expressed his desire to leave the side in Summer once his contract expires, with apparently AC Milan the likely destination. And as per media reports in Italy, the Italian side now have selected the Lisbon shot-stopper as the perfect successor of Reina and will bid for him in the Summer.

Apart from Napoli, French giants, Paris Saint-Germain are also said to be in line for the goalkeeper who are also set to lose one of their shot-stoppers Trapp in the Summer, however, as of now it is Napoli who are believed to be the front-runners in the race.

It is also understood that Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis last week flew to Portugal to hold talks with the player and Patricio's super-agent Jorge Mendes, and apparently both of them have given the green signal.

Though, still, there are concerns over the asking price of the keeper. Patricio still has four years left on his Lisbon contract and it is believed that the Portuguese side are pushing for a £15m transfer fee.

But Napoli, on the other hand, are believed to be not ready to splash out such an amount for a 30-year-old keeper and are now hoping that the player will force a move which will push the transfer towards its conclusion.

Patricio has been an obedient servant of the Portuguese side for last 16 years since his club debut in 2006 and has made over 450 appearances till date.

He also has established himself as a regular in the national side and earlier in 2016 guided his national team to their first ever Euro glory in 2016. His display also earned him the goalkeeper of the tournament in the very same competition and now the player is all set to take part in the biggest footballing tournament, that is World Cup which will start in June.