Man United transfer news: Expensive signing among those being tracked by Serie A giants

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez has reportedly emerged as a target for Serie A champions Napoli.

Under Antonio Conte, the Partenopei won a second title in three years last season, beating Inter Milan to the Scudetto, securing the crown on the final day.

With Champions League football on the horizon next season though, Napoli look set to strengthen their squad further in order to compete on the continent.

A fire sale could take place at Man United this summer, with Ruben Amorim set to be given free rein on who stays and goes, with the Portuguese manager being entrusted with building the squad in his image.

Napoli shortlist injury-prone Martinez

© Imago

It would be something of a surprise to see Martinez leave Old Trafford this summer, because his versatility means he is well accustomed to slotting into Amorim's preferred 3-4-3 formation as a left-sided centre-back.

However, Martinez's injury record is a concern, as he only played 20 Premier League games last season, missing the final four months of the campaign with a knee problem.

Despite those concerns though, the Mirror claim that Napoli are interested in signing the 27-year-old this summer.

After missing out on European football altogether, Martinez could himself seek a move away in search of continental action, just three years on from joining the club in a deal worth £56.7m from Ajax.

The report claims that Napoli are willing to shop in the Premier League once again, following the success they had with signing Scott McTominay from United last summer, as well as bringing in Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea.

Defence is set to be an area where Napoli will improve upon this summer, following injury concerns for Alessandro Buongiorno and Juan Jesus, which forced left-back Matias Olivera to play a portion of the season as a makeshift centre-back.

Napoli to appease Conte and strengthen squad

© Imago

It looked for all the world that Antonio Conte was going to leave Napoli, just days after leading the club to just the fourth Scudetto in their history last month.

Conte has been vocal for much of the campaign about the need to spend money to strengthen the squad at his disposal, but owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has often been a difficult man to persuade.

However, to the surprise of many, Conte agreed to stay on as manager last week, following a meeting with the club's hierarchy, in which it was agreed that De Laurentiis would provide the funds the manager saw necessary to challenge for the title again next season, while also competing in the Champions League.

The first name linked with a move to a club following that bombshell was outgoing Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, whose large salary at the Etihad will make him an expensive man to sign this summer.

It is expected the deal will be completed after De Bruyne is back from international duty with Belgium next week, and he could be the first of many new faces through the door in Naples this summer.

Written by
Andrew Delaney