Spanish Reports Claim Barcelona's Gerard Deulofeu Is Nearing Napoli Move With €2m Contract Agreed

​Reports from Spain have claimed that Barcelona officials will meet with their forward Gerard Deulofeu this week, as the former Everton man looks to push through a move to ​Serie A side Napoli. Given the wealth of attacking options available to the league leaders, Deulofeu has been forced to play a bit-part role since rejoining his boyhood club at the start of the season.

As reported by Spanish radio station ​Catràdio Sports, the 23-year-old has already agreed a lucrative €2m-a-year contract with Serie A leaders ​Napoli, complete with bonuses in the region of €500k. However, Bologna star Simeone Verdi is believed to be Napoli's first choice, and if he decides to join the club in January the Deulofeu move will be cancelled.

The speedy winger has struggled to settle at a club during his career thus far, and has played for the likes of ​Everton, Sevilla and Milan on loan spells. Deulofeu briefly joined Everton on a full-time basis from 2015-17, but in last summer's transfer window Barça decided to active the buy-back clause in his contract and bring him back to the Camp Nou for a mere €12m.

First team football has been hard to come by under his manager Ernesto Valverde, and the dribbling dynamo is clearly unwilling to settle for the role of impact substitution any longer. Deulofeu could well fit in well at Napoli, as the team is renowned for their fast, technically-gifted forward players.

​​In other news, ​Barcelona's new £142m signing Philippe Coutinho has penned a heartfelt message to Liverpool fans in the wake of his stunning switch to Spain. The talented Brazilian paid tributes to the Anfield faithful for their support during his six season spell on Merseyside, and cited joining Barcelona being his 'dream' as the key reason behind his decision to leave.