Lorenzo Insigne not interested in Chelsea transfer, random rumour generators hardest hit
By George Perry
Lorenzo Insigne will definitely stay with Napoli next season, per his agent. This unexpected announcement caught the vast majority of Chelsea fans off-guard, because they did not know the club was supposedly interested in him (because they’re not).
Lorenzo Insigne exited Chelsea’s transfer rumour mill before he was ever really in it. His agent, the intrepid Franco della Monica, dismissed out of hand the suggestion that his client would leave Napoli for Chelsea on a £45 million transfer. Della Monica confirmed that Insigne is fully committed to Napoli. But, in fact, even if he wanted to leave, £45 million is almost insultingly low.
Find you a guy, girl or personal representative that talks about you like Franco della Monica talks about Lorenzo Insigne.
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If you are doubting your status as a Chelsea fan (or supporter) for not knowing that Lorenzo Insigne was in the transfer mix, don’t be. If anything, you (like us) are ahead of the curve. Della Monica was responding to a rumour in The Sun. We could stop right there, but we’ll continue.
Insigne is the Neapolitan striker version of John Terry. He grew up just outside of Naples. He played his youth years at Napoli, then made his pro debut with this childhood club. Napoli sold him to Foggia and brought him back after a year. They then loaned him to Pescara where he played alongside Marco Verratti and Ciro Immobile.
Since 2012, he has been a regular at the Stadio San Paolo. Insigne scored 18 goals and nine assists last season. He trailed only Dries Mertens in goals scored and goals created (goals scored plus assists). At age 26, Insigne is just entering his prime.
While he is the sort of player that Chelsea would pursue if they wanted to replace Eden Hazard (the premise of The Sun article), Chelsea are not looking to replace Eden Hazard. Nor is Insigne the least bit unhappy at Napoli. Nor is Napoli ready to unload their homegrown one-club-man (for all intents and purposes) in the making.
Franco della Monica did his client and the football world a favour by slapping down such an obnoxiously transparent rumour. Not that too many people read the rumour, and even fewer gave it any credence. But the more players and agents push back on the worst of silly season excesses, the better they can do their respective jobs free of mindless distraction. The fans, for their part, can go back to debating what could actually happen.
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If the source was any outlet other than The Sun, you could almost feel sorry for their public shaming. But then you remember how much they wallow in such embarassment, and you go about with your day.