Napoli completes David Neres signing from Benfica

Napoli have officially confirmed the signing of  Brazilian winger David Neres on a permanent deal from Benfica. 

The club revealed that the 27-year-old has moved on a permanent transfer at a reported cost of €28m, including bonuses. According to recent reports, he will pocket around €3m per season in wages. 

Neres becomes Napoli’s fourth summer signing, following the arrivals of Alessandro Buongiorno, Rafa Marin, and Leonardo Spinazzola.

The winger officially becomes a Napoli player after completing his medical over the weekend. The deal was completed after he and the club discussed the final details of his contract, with a couple of minor issues cropping up around image rights, leading to Napoli delaying their announcement by a day. 

Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis was the first person to officially announce the completion of the signing in line with the club culture.

Before linking up with Ajax in 2017, Neres who came through the academy of his hometown team, Sao Paolo, scored 37 league goals from 121 appearances with the Dutch giant.

He left the Dutch side for Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk in January of 2022, but did not make a competitive appearance. He then left the country following the Russian invasion. 

Neres then joined the Portuguese giant for a reported fee of €15.3m later that year. 

Meanwhile, Napoli are not done with transfer business as the club director Giovanni Manna returned to England to continue and, possibly, finalise transfer talks for Billy Gilmour, Romelu Lukaku and Scott McTominay.

Transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio revealed that Manna has returned to England to meet the directors of Brighton, Chelsea, and Manchester United to complete the deals.

Manna had already traveled to London last week but failed to reach agreements for Gilmour, Lukaku, or McTominay, three of Napoli’s main transfer targets this summer.

According to reports, Gilmour is the closest to joining the Stadio Maradona. Di Marzio, Manna, and Brighton are hoping to fix the ‘final details’ for the Scotland international’s transfer.

Since Conte has acquired Romelu Lukaku as a priority, Manna is still waiting for Chelsea’s reply for Romelu Lukaku after sending a €30m offer for the Belgian striker. 

The latest transfer proposal of Napoli is a loan deal with an obligation to buy.