Jadon Sancho’s summer is threatening to go from bad to worse as Fabrizio Romano reveals that Napoli are prioritising Bologna winger Dan Ndoye over the Manchester United outcast.
Earlier on Wednesday, it was revealed that the newly-crowned Serie A champions hold a concrete interest in the 25-year-old, who is back on the books at Man Utd after Chelsea elected not to make his loan permanent.
Sancho is on a hefty wage at Old Trafford, and his alleged unwillingness to take a significant pay cut is what reportedly doomed his talks with Chelsea, who were open to keeping him around, but only on their terms.
Given their €85 million outlay on Sancho, Man Utd, too, are seemingly not willing to consent to a cut-price deal, but they have been told by transfer intermediary Vincenzo Morabito that they must lower their demands or risk being stuck with an unwanted player.
“Manchester United are going to have to lower their expectations for Sancho, because they cannot ask for €25m for a player who has one year left on his contract and earns €18m per season wages,” he said.
Napoli focus on Ndoye
The sentiment that Sancho is too expensive for any shrewdly run club was also echoed in the reporting on Napoli’s interest. It was made emphatically clear that the Serie A giants will not pay the winger’s current wage.
Indeed, it seems that Napoli have already moved on from Sancho, with Fabrizio Romano now reporting that they are in active talks with Bologna star Dan Ndoye, with whom personal terms are ‘almost agreed.’
Sancho remains a name under consideration, but he is clearly not the club’s current priority. Talks with Bologna for Ndoye are currently ongoing, with Antonio Conte keen to add the Swiss international to his side.
Ndoye currently has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €25.5m, while Sancho sits at €37.7m.
The expert’s opinion
Serie A expert Carlo Garganese believes that Ndoye has what it takes to be a success under Conte at Napoli. Dan Ndoye had a breakout season in Serie A this past campaign at Bologna,” he told FootballTransfers.
“He scored eight goals and provided four assists in Serie A, and was one of the most electric wingers in the league. Blessed with lightning pace and turns of direction, Ndoye brings the dynamism and intensity that Antonio Conte is looking to add to his attack.
“Conte has long been a fan of the Swiss international, who enjoyed a brilliant Euro 2024 and then took that into the 2024-25 Serie A season. He scored the winner in the 2025 Coppa Italia final against Milan as Bologna won their first trophy in 51 years.
“He can play on both wings, but Napoli intend to use him on the left. Previously, his weakness had been his final product, but he improved a great deal in this regard this past season.”
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