Napoli have their eyes set on Olympique Marseille defender Doria as they look to shore up their leaky backline, according to Coriello dello Sport

Coach Maurizio Sarri is a keen admirer of the Brazilian who is yet to feature for Marseille since being purchased by the club from Botafogo last summer. 

Doria, still only 20, spent the second-half of last campaign on loan to Sao Paulo, featuring on six separate occasions. 

Sarri's first defensive addition

Should Napoli secure the services of the young Brazilian, he would become the first defensive arrival of the summer. 

Napoli moved swiftly to acquire midfielder Mirko Valdifiori from Sarri's ex-employers Empoli before liberating Spanish goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who spent the 2013/14 season in Naples, from his torment at Bayern Munich. More recently, the club landed Udinese midfielder Allan for a fee of €11.5M and also captured Brazilian goalkeeper Gabriel from Milan on a temporary basis. 

The Partenopei shipped 54 goals under Rafa Benitez's tutelage last season - the highest margin of any top ten side - and Sarri is keen to address such a problem as Napoli aim to reclaim their spot in the Champions League. 

Marcelo Bielsa may be keen to sell

It has been well-documented that Marseille coach Marcelo Bielsa is not Doria's biggest admirer. Purchased on a whim from the board last summer - Bielsa would have preferred that they had pursued Atletico Madrid defender Toby Alderweireld instead - the youngster was quickly demoted to the reserves before he demanded regular gametime and departed on loan to Sao Paulo in January. 

Sao Paulo had an option to make the Brazilian's deal permanent in the summer, but that issue is yet to be resolved. 

The Marseille hierarchy may be willing to cash in on the young Brazilian - of whom they paid €7M for just under 12 months ago - and look to strengthen their squad as they, like Napoli, were forced to settle for Europa League football last season. 

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Craig Vickers
Milk, honey and Andy Murray. Email: craigvickers1998[at]outlook.com