Napoli set to sign De Bruyne as Conte extends stay

Napoli are close to signing Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne as a free agent as the Serie A champions also managed to keep hold of their title-winning coach Antonio Conte.

Asked by reporters on Thursday night, Napoli’s sporting director Giovanni Manna said De Bruyne was “pretty close” to joining the club.

De Bruyne will join Romelu Lukaku, Scott McTominay, and Billy Gilmour in moving to Italy from the Premier League.

Earlier this month, De Bruyne ended a 10-year spell at Manchester City, where he won six Premier League titles and the 2023 Champions League.

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The 33 midfielder will have Conte as his coach after he and Napoli ended weeks of speculation by confirming that he would stay to defend the Scudetto.

Conte had been tipped for a return to Juventus, where he spent the bulk of his trophy-laden playing career and won three league titles as a coach, after publicly bemoaning the running of the club by film mogul owner Aurelio De Laurentiis.

Conte, who has a contract until 2027, has revolutionised Napoli since taking charge of a club still reeling from a disastrous defence of the 2023 league title which ended with a 10th-placed finish.

The 55-year-old manager has got the best out of Lukaku and in particular McTominay who took to Napoli and Naples like a duck to water after arriving from Manchester United.

The Star