Transfers: Leicester, Napoli battling for Morocco star Ounahi

• The January transfer window is here and clubs are on the market to strengthen their squads
• Morocco World Cup star Azzedine Ounahi has attracted interest from Premier League’s Leicester City and Serie A side Napoli
• Arsenal and Tottenham are battling out for Eintracht Frankfurt defender Evan Ndicka

Serie A side Napoli have made an offer to sign Morocco World Cup star Azzedine Ounahi.

The midfielder played a pivotal role in the Atlas Lions’ historic run to the semi-finals in December in Qatar, and he has been heavily linked with a move away from Ligue 1 side Angers as a result.

Reports stated last week that Leicester City had made a €28m offer for Ounahi, which is roughly €12m short of Angers’ asking price.

A further sticking point is that Angers would like any deal for Ounahi to allow them to keep him for the rest of the season – they are currently mired in a relegation battle, sitting bottom of the Ligue 1 table seven points adrift from safety.

Morocco and Angers midfielder Azzedine Ounahi is a wanted man across Europe. | PHOTO: ANP |

Reports now indicate that Napoli have now made an opening bid for Ounahi worth €15m plus add-ons, but their offer includes Angers’ preferred loan-back agreement.

The 22-year-old has plenty of admirers from within Ligue 1, with PSG, Lyon and Marseille all interested. Premier League duo Liverpool and Tottenham also like him, though none of these sides have joined Napoli and Leicester in making firm offers just yet.

Angers have been hoping to use this interest to kickstart a bidding war, with Leicester’s offer seemingly forcing Napoli to firm up their intentions.

Meanwhile, Arsenal and Tottenham are reportedly trying to pry centre-back Evan Ndicka away from Eintracht Frankfurt this month.

This, the penultimate year of his five-year deal, will be Frankfurt’s chance to make a profit on their youthful talent. Despite their desire to keep Ndicka longer, they apparently see the writing on the wall.

Eintracht Frankfurt defender Evan Ndicka. | PHOTO: Fotmob |

Ndicka’s agents are claimed to have contacted some of Europe’s top teams, including Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, and Barcelona, but some of them are said to have turned them down because of their demanding contract terms.

According to earlier reports from Football London, Arsenal and Ndicka had personal arrangements in place for a free transfer before Frankfurt made its most recent revised contract offer, while Tottenham is still looking.

Interested parties prepared to wait another six months could scoop him up on a free, but a transfer fee in January with so little time remaining on his contract could end up surprisingly affordable.