Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has outlined his ambition to buy an English club in the near future.
The Italian, who made his fortune as a film producer before taking control of the Naples side in 2004, reportedly told Radio Marte: “I want to expand my football empire.
“I want to buy three clubs, including one in England, so I asked (former Napoli manager) Edy Reja if he would be willing to be the coach and he said he’s available.”
Championship outfit Watford benefited from a similar ownership setup this term as they narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League by virtue of a play-off final defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace.
Gianfranco Zola’s side loaned 10 players in total from Udinese and Granada, the other two clubs who fall under the umbrella of ownership by the Pozzo family, to finish third in the Championship.
Napoli finished second in Serie A in 2012-13, being beaten to the title by Juventus.
They have since lost coach Walter Mazzarri to Inter, with De Laurentiis appointing Rafael Benitez as the Italian’s successor.
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