Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis Denies Reports Linking Club With Return for Edinson Cavani

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has dismissed reports linking his club with moves for Angel Di Maria, Karim Benzema and former Stadio San Paolo favourite Edinson Cavani.

Speaking to Radio Kiss Kiss (via Gianluca di Marzio), the Napoli president assertively denied the reports linking Napoli with moves for the three attackers.

De Laurentiis has insisted that Napoli only 'want young players', meaning that the aforementioned moves are not on the cards, although his words give fans a clearer insight into the transfer policy he is implementing at the Serie A club.

He is quoted as saying: "Am I pursuing Benzema and Di Maria? Completely false. I want young players. Why would I buy two old players? And I say that with all due respect to Di Maria and Benzema. Do I have to appease the fans? They are supporters not managers. I respect them but they need to stay calm and let us work."

Meanwhile, on Cavani - who scored over 100 times across three seasons in Naples - De Laurentiis put the situation into perspective by insisting that the Uruguayan striker would not be willing to take such a huge pay cut to re-join his former club. 

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”He’s someone who earns €20m before taxes every ten months, I don’t think that at the end of his career he’d be willing to cut his salary in half," De Laurentiis added.