Everton has leapfrogged Napoli in Witsel hunt, rep says

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Everton is leading the race to sign Axel Witsel after the Belgium international rejected an approach from Napoli, according to an intermediary for the player.

The Zenit St. Petersburg midfielder is a client of the Universal Group S.R.L., and its director claimed that a transfer to Campania now appears unlikely unless Napoli boosts its offer.

"Axel is currently further away from Napoli," CEO Francesco Marseglia told Radio Crc, with translation from the Guardian.

"The offer wasn't really given a lot of consideration. Everton might even go above €4-million net in salary."

In addition to Everton offering a reported £120,000 weekly salary, it's also willing to part with £28.5 million to add Witsel to new manager Ronald Koeman's midfield.

However, the fresh funds added to the transfer kitty by majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri at Goodison Park aren't enough for Marseglia. He still questions whether a move to Merseyside would be a sensible next step in the 27-year-old's career, when Napoli or other interested parties simply have more ambition.

"If you look at the financial aspect, that's the right move, but in terms of career I'd choose Napoli every time, even putting the Champions League to one side," he continued.

"Napoli are an ambitious club, they're growing every year, always taking more important players. Everton don't seem like a great team.

"I don't know exactly what the situation is, in my opinion he wants to take his time because he's not yet convinced about what to do. He can either accept the English club or wait for an even bigger club."

Koeman's business upon taking the helm has been underwhelming thus far, but he's exploring plenty of options to bolster the midfield, with Witsel and AS Roma's Kevin Strootman apparently heading up the wishlist.