Report: Atletico Madrid's Sime Vrsaljko Agrees to Leave for Napoli
Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri may have finally found his new fullback in Atletico Madrid's Sime Vrsaljko, who is thought to have informed the club of his wish to leave.
The Croatian 25-year-old has been linked to Napoli over the past few weeks and, according to Marca, he might be able to join the Serie A league leaders as soon as January.
Vrsaljko has had a rough start to the season, during which, mostly due to injuries, he has often been sidelined by manager Diego Simeone.
The Argentine boss often opted to keep him out of his starting squad, relegating him to the bench and subsequently growing his frustration.
The Croatian is now apparently ready to cross the Mediterranean to join Napoli, who have been looking for someone with his skills after Faouzi Ghoulam picked up a cruciate injury that will rule him out until the next season.
Marca reports: "Sime Vrsaljko, via his representative, has already informed Atletico Madrid of his desire to leave the club in the next winter transfer market.
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"The player wants to go to Napoli, the club that already bid for him in the summer of 2016. The Croatian seems to have overcome the injuries that prevented him from playing against Roma and Levante."
Despite playing a pivotal role in his national team's qualification to the 2018 World Cup, Simeone has chosen not to feature him for Atletico's derby with Real Madrid nor for the following matches.
This decision was the ultimate confirmation for Vrsaljko that it was time to leave. However, it is thought that Atletico won't let him go until they find a replacement, which could happen in June rather than in January.
