Napoli dismiss Haaland talk

Napoli have dismissed reports that they had the chance to sign Salzburg starlet Erling Haaland for just €5million last January. Reports in Italy have claimed that both Napoli and Juventus were offered the opportunity to bring in Haaland, but they turned down that chance and the Norway international subsequently joined Austrian champions Salzburg from Molde.
Haland did not feature too much for Salzburg during the second-half of last season, but he has certainly come to the fore this term, scoring a staggering 20 goals in 13 matches across all competitions.
The 19-year-old’s impressive goalscoring form includes four hat-tricks, as well as a brace against Napoli in the Champions League this week, although the Partenopei were ultimately able to secure a 3-2 victory in the Group E encounter.
However, since that match, the speculation has emerged that the Partenopei passed up the opportunity to sign the teenager on the cheap, something the club have now taken the unusual step of denying by releasing a statement. “We read that Il Mattino interviewed a talent scout who claims Haaland was offered to Napoli for €5m,” a Napoli club statement read. “This ‘news’ is false and it’s astonishing that, before writing it, the journalist did not contact Napoli to receive confirmation or denial.”
Napoli have also been linked with signing LA Galaxy forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic over recent weeks, which may suggest that Carlo Ancelotti is still not fully satisfied with his forward line.