Napoli are reportedly closing in on a swap deal for Atletico Madrid midfielder Mario Suarez, which will see former West Ham United man Valon Behrami move in the opposite direction.
Boss Rafael Benitez is stepping up his transfer activity after spending several weeks waiting to see if he could raid former club Liverpool for Lucas Leiva.
While their interest in the Brazil international remains, they are determined to pursue other targets in the meantime.
According to Italian source TuttoSport, the Serie A outfit hope to knock down Suarez’s release clause from £18million to £12m if they throw in Behrami as part of the arrangement.
They are looking to capitalise on Atletico’s long-term interest in the ex-Hammers star and believe progress could be made by the weekend.
It comes after they missed out on Barcelona’s Javier Mascherano, who is another of Benitez’s former Anfield students.
Atletico head coach Diego Simeone is a keen admirer Behrami and hopes to build on the success of last term, when he guided them to the domestic title and the Champions League final.
He has a significant sum of money to spend during the current transfer window after seeing his star striker Diego Costa join Chelsea for £32million and defender Filipe Luis follow him to Stamford Bridge in a £15.8m switch.
Behrami, rated at somewhere in the region of £5m, played for West Ham between 2008 and 2011 and caught they eye during his time in the capital.