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Despite that his agent last week briefed the media on how difficult it would be for Pepe Reina to return to Napoli last week and rumours his wage demands had priced him out of a more permanent Italy stay, the player himself is insisting that Napoli could be in his future.
"There is a possibility of staying at Napoli," he told Gazetta dello Sport. "It will depend on Liverpool, Napoli, and me, but I have been really happy here and feel loved. There is a project at Napoli that makes one dream and I have never ruled out the possibility of remaining."
With Barcelona bringing Marc-Andre ter Stegen in to replace Victor Valdes and little sign of any interest in Reina elsewhere, keeping his options open makes sense. After all, there's no way he will want to return to Liverpool just to sit on the bench.
If he isn't willing to lower his wage demands at least slightly, it appears increasingly likely that could be his fate. If Reina wants to start next season, his best chance is Napoli. And unlike some of the unwanted players Liverpool have struggled to ship out in recent years, Reina is very much used to starting every week.
Napoli gives him that. It also gives him a side that is in the Champions League and aiming to challenge for the title in Italy. If football and not just the size of his pay packet is a concern, it's by far his best and most likely landing place. Maybe he's beginning to realise that.
