Napoli Finally Ready to Shake Hands with Goalie Meret | OneFootball

Napoli are poised to keep having Alex Meret manning their posts even though the conversations to prolong his contract have gotten dangerously close to the end of his contract on June 30th, but that had happened also in previous instances.

According to Il Mattino (via Gonfia La Rete), the Partenopei remain committed to their goalie even though they have been reluctant to hand him long-term. It won’t be the case this time either. However, they won’t need to revisit it next summer since the new expiration date will fall in 2027 with an option.

Meret will enjoy a pay bump up to €2.5M annually once he puts pen to paper with Napoli. His entourage initially requested a three-year deal, while the team wanted a shorter one. The parties met halfway and will have a summit to ratify it soon.

The announcement could arrive before the next Serie A round. The Azzurri will face Milan on March 30. The shot-stopper has often had to compete for the starting job in previous years, for instance, with David Ospina and Pierluigi Gollini. It hasn’t occurred in the present one despite the presence of Elia Caprile until January. Antonio Conte entrusted him and didn’t change his mind. His teammate moved to Cagliari in the past window and could stay in Sardinia permanently since his loan deal envisages an option to buy.

Our Take on Napoli and Meret

He’s not among the crème de la crème yet but has made another small leap this year and has been superb in more than a few games. It’s unclear why his extension always takes longer than usual, but there isn’t any doubt about his value at this point.