Arsenal Eye Meret During Contract Talks with Napoli | OneFootball

Napoli are about to reignite the talks to extend the contract of Alex Meret, which has been a recurring thing in recent years as his contracts have always been short-term. His current one was extended for the 2023/2024 season due to the activation of a previous appearance-related option, Il Mattino informs.

There are no more gimmicks that could prolong his deal past the June 2025 deadline. The Azzurri will have to come to terms with his agent Andrea Pastorello to keep ahold of him and avoid a departure on a free.

Napoli will meet with the Meret camp on Monday, but the parties are still pretty distant. It’s unlikely they’ll be able to find common ground so soon, but there’s a mutual desire to continue together. The goalkeeper makes €3.7M annually presently and would like a little pay bump. Instead, the team would rather not touch up his salary and simply add more years. The 27-year-old has missed the last few games due to a thigh injury, and Elia Caprile has been impeccable in relief.

According to Football Transfers, Arsenal have shown some interest in the Italian shot-stopper as they were unable to sign a new quality one to join David Raya last summer, settling for Neto on loan.

Our Take on Napoli and Meret

He’s reliable but not always elite, and there’s not a big gap between him and his deputy, who might have a higher upside since he’s a few years younger. A Bosman exit would be disastrous. If they aren’t close to an understanding in December, they should weigh putting him on sale in January to salvage the situation from an economic standpoint.