Napoli looking to make a swoop on Chelsea’s overcrowded midfield

Napoli are looking to take advantage of Chelsea’s increasingly-growing midfield contingent, with the Serie A side in discussions with the Blues over a cut-price deal for Portuguese international Raul Meireles.

 Meireles has already played for three different clubs in the last two years, having first moved to Liverpool from Porto for £10.2 million in 2010, and then again to Chelsea the following season for a fee of around £12 million.

 However, despite making a total of 45 appearances for the Blues in the previous season, the 29-year old’s future is again at risk after manager Roberto di Matteo’s spending spree over the summer.

 Meireles does not want to fall behind in the Chelsea pecking order and warm the bench at Stamford Bridge, while Di Matteo could help the Blues’ rising wage bill by offloading the Portuguese international.

 Napoli, who have been monitoring Meireles’ situation all summer, have been alerted by this, with manager Walter Mazzarri keen on adding the heavily experienced midfielder to his side.

 The Partenopei have money to burn as well, having sold striker Ezequiel Lavezzi to PSG earlier in the summer, and are ready to part with £8 million for the central midfielder.

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Meireles eyes win for Ronaldo

Portugal midfielder Raul Meireles has spoken of how important a win over Denmark would be for team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.

 Paulo Bento's team are under extreme pressure going into their second Group B match at Euro 2012 after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Germany on Saturday.

 An early exit by Portugal at the tournament could seriously hurt Ronaldo's chances of winning the Ballon d'Or, and Meireles is keen to help his compatriot reclaim the prestigious accolade from Lionel Messi.

 "He is a great friend and the best player in the world," Meireles said. "We will have to win the next match for him, and also for us. "Cristiano does not like to lose.

 It is normal that these matches are very important to him as he gets very frustrated by defeats, just like it happened against Germany."

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