Napoli continue to spend the money they got for selling Edinson Cavani. Club president Aurelio De Laurentiis announced that two long-rumored signees completed their medicals on his Twitter feed today. Expect Gonzalo Higuain and 'Pepe' Jose Reina to be introduced as Napoli players shortly:
Gonzalo Higuain and Pepe Reina pass Napoli medicals
Jose Reina and Gonzalo Higuain are now Napoli players, according to club president Aurelio De Laurentiis.
Denis Doyle
Higuain e Reina hanno superato le visite mediche e presto si aggregheranno al gruppo
— AurelioDeLaurentiis (@ADeLaurentiis) July 24, 2013
Higuain has played for Real Madrid for the last seven years, scoring 122 goals for the club after joining from River Plate. The 25-year-old is a direct replacement for Cavani and this move sets him up to play a big part in the 2014 World Cup for Argentina. Higuain has regularly been first choice for Alejandro Sabella and should keep his spot if he performs well as a first-choice striker for a team in the Champions League.
Madrid stood by their seemingly outlandish asking price of €40 million for Higuain, but by all accounts, they were able to get it from Napoli. With De Laurentiis swimming in cash following the Cavani sale, Madrid knew they could hold out for a big fee and did well to make a massive profit on Higuain, as good as he is.
Reina joins from Liverpool on a one-year loan deal and will reunited with his former boss Rafa Benitez. Napoli signed talented goalkeeper Rafael from Santos FC in Brazil this summer, but understandably didn't want to throw him into the fire immediately, especially given that they have the talent to push for a Champions League knockout place and a top-two finish in Serie A. Reina provides Benitez with an experienced stopgap to help them ease Rafael into the eventual starting role.
More in Soccer:
See More:
