Report: Napoli swoop for Inter target Poli

By ESPNSTAR.com staff

The 22 year old spent last season on-loan at Inter Milan, making 18 appearances for the Nerazzurri. A string of impressive performances was sufficient to convince Inter to initiate discussions with Poli's club Sampdoria regarding a permanent transfer. However, reports in Italy indicate that negotiations have stalled for undisclosed reasons, and the midfielder's agent confirmed that his client will now comence talks with other clubs.

"In light of this ongoing delay in negotiations no solution has been reached. We note that obviously terms have failed to be agreed, otherwise the transfer would have happened by now, we were absolutely convinced that Andrea would have become an Inter player, so on Monday he will now rejoin Samp [for pre-season training] and then evaluate what to do. We offer a heartfelt thank you to Inter who last year gave Poli an opportunity," Poli's representative stated.

"Obviously now they have other priorities and we fully respect that. It was inappropriate to continue to wait for a solution and so we are now free from any moral commitment to Inter."

Poli's sudden availability has seen several sides including AC Milan, Athletico Madrid and Napoli register their interest. However, the Naples club is believed to be leading the race for the player's signature, as a result of Poli's good relationship with Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri. The Italian was given his senior team debut at 17 years of age by Mazzarri during the manager's reign at Sampdoria.