Naples; here is Demme and the pursuit of Lobotka continues

A short, experienced director who has a role model in football: Rino Gattuso. Diego Demme is the first signing of Napoli's January transfer campaign, as they seek new life to emerge from the crisis. The German midfielder will arrive in Naples from Leipzig for around 12 million euros including bonuses: the move is practically done, so much so that Demme could arrive in Rome tomorrow for medical visits and the signing of the contract and then move to Naples to meet Gattuso and his new teammates, trying to immediately fit into the Azzurri's chessboard. The 28-year-old, born in Herford, a town in the far north of Germany, is of Calabrian origin and apparently owes his name to his father's passion for Maradona. A passion that tied Demme to Naples, which will now become his home. A low central midfielder, capable of acting as a filter with great intensity and aggression but also of setting up the maneuver, Demme exploded relatively late, making his mark with Panderborn in 2014, when he was 23 years old and still playing in the German B league. Leipzig noticed him and took him and since then Demme has become a fulcrum of the team's midfield. But Napoli is not stopping and is also aiming straight for Stanislav Lobotka, a Celta Vigo midfielder, already ready to pack his bags for Naples. The blue club has reportedly raised its offer to 21 million euros to convince Celta to close the deal immediately. A double blow that would bring new life to the Napoli midfield that in the last two years had lost two fulcrums like Hamsik and Jorginho, never truly replaced, and that will allow Gattuso to make the necessary choices to make a change and get out of the crisis. Meanwhile, Gattuso is working on rebuilding Napoli in Castel Volturno, trying to find the right team to attack Lazio on Saturday afternoon. A very tough test after the home defeat against Inter and Gattuso is looking first of all at the infirmary where Koulibaly is still stationed, who trained separately today due to the injury he suffered in Sassuolo. Treatments also for Maksimovic and Napoli who risks showing up at the Olimpico with Di Lorenzo and Manolas in the center of defense. Meanwhile, Mertens is awaiting his return from Belgium to check his muscular condition.