Napoli welcome Neres from Benfica in £23.8m deal

David Neres has completed a permanent move from Benfica to Napoli, the Serie A club confirmed on Wednesday.

Neres, who scored 17 times across a two-year spell with the Portuguese side, has signed for a reported £23.8m fee with add-ons potentially increasing that to £25.5m.

The Brazilian ed 15 goal involvements (five goals and 10 assists) for Benfica last year as they finished second in the Primeira Liga and won the Portuguese Super Cup.

He created 31 chances in the league last season, while also completing 34 dribbles, a total only bettered by Joao Neves (41), Rafa (51) and Angel Di Maria (55).

Neres has been brought in to provide creativity and goals from the wide positions alongside Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, with Napoli netting 55 times in Serie A last season, 34 less than champions Inter.

The 27-year-old becomes Gli Azzurri’s third g of the transfer window following the arrivals of Alessandro Buongiorno and Rafa Marin, with it expected they will complete a deal for Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku in the coming days.

After failing to defend their Serie A crown last season, Napoli welcome Bologna to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona this Sunday in their opening league game.

David is proud to be one of us!

Leggi il comunicato: https://t.co/ii9LrRR9gd

#ForzaNapoliSempre | #ProudToBeNapoli | #WelcomeNeres pic.twitter.com/QUpq0RkhES

— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) August 21, 2024