Napoli Target La Liga Stars Should They Qualify for Champions League Group Stage

Serie A side Napoli will make attempts to sign Barcelona's Denis Suarez or Villarreal's Samuel Castillejo if they qualify for this season's Champions League tournament, per Gianluca Di Marzio.

They will entertain French outfit OGC Nice over two legs to determine who gets to play top tier European football this year, and are hopeful of making it past the Ligue 1 side.

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The first leg of the playoff will take place on Napoli's ground on Wednesday, and the home side could have a huge advantage, with both Mario Balotelli and Wesley Sneijder set to miss out due to fitness woes.

Balotelli injured his hamstring in a match against Ajax last month and was unable to pass a fitness test on Monday, while Sneijder still needs a few weeks to regain full match fitness.

If the Italian side qualifies for the Champions League, they will be looking to bolster their squad, and have already set sights on the aforementioned Suarez and Castillejo.

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Reports from Spain suggest that contact has already been made over the central midfielder, but Barcelona aren't keen on letting him go as he is in Ernesto Valverde's plans for the upcoming campaign.

It is believed, however, that they may consider selling for the sum of €14m, as long as a buy-back clause is agreed.

Castillejo, meanwhile, has been on the Naples side's radar since the beginning of the year, but the player dismissed the links, branding them 'just rumours' during an interview in April.