At a glance
- Manchester United’s Tom Heaton subject to Italy interest
- Napoli keen on four United players
- Reds face goalkeeping reshuffle
Serie A giants Napoli have been a bit of a dumping ground for Manchester United outcasts in recent seasons. One of the main catalysts for that is manager Antonio Conte, who has revived the careers of players seen dead and buried from their Old Trafford spells.
The current Serie A champions have Scott McTominay, Rasmus Hojlund and Romelu Lukaku within their ranks. McTominay, in particular, has reached cult status at the club, which is a feat that many do not achieve there.
Diego Maradona’s son recently spoke to Televomero, giving the midfielder some incredible praise: “After my father, McTominay is the most influential player in the history of Napoli. We had God at Napoli in the form of Diego, but for me, McTominay is Jesus. He is a completely fundamental player.”
The Conte and United connection
Former Chelsea and Spurs boss Conte has a storied history of buying United players. Even in his time at Inter Milan, he convinced Lukaku, Ashley Young, Matteo Darmian and Alexis Sanchez to join his project.
The buck may not stop there yet. According to TEAMtalk, Napoli are interested in signing United’s third-choice goalkeeper Tom Heaton when his contract expires this summer.
A separate report claims that Napoli’s sporting director, Giovanni Manna, has travelled to England to explore opportunities at Old Trafford. It is mainly to target players whose contracts expire in 2026. Under this category, Harry Maguire, Casemiro, Tyrell Malacia and Heaton have been mentioned.
Maguire is set to sign a new one-year deal with the club, which would rule him out of a summer move. However, the other three options look like realistic targets at the moment.
Heaton’s summer dilemma
The 39-year-old faces a dilemma about his next steps. He could either sign a new one-year deal at Old Trafford, retire and become a United coach, or move to Italy.
The Red Devils value in the goalkeeper as a mentor to the squad has been highly emphasised in his time at the club. His impact has been on the training ground rather than on match days.
Having graduated from United’s academy, Heaton rejoined the club from Aston Villa in 2021. None of his 116 Premier League appearances have actually come as a United player. Former boss Ruben Amorim made him part of a 6-man leadership group last year.
United are ready to undertake a drastic squad overhaul in all positions. There have been reports that the club are ready to sell second-choice Altay Bayindir and bring back Radek Vitek as the deputy to Senne Lammens. Vitek is spending this season on loan at Championship side Bristol City.
The club also have the issue of Andre Onana to deal with. The Cameroonian will return from his loan spell at Trabzonspor and bring back a hefty wage bill with him. The ideal scenario seems to be to move him on, as he is too expensive an asset to use as a secondary keeper. The roadblock the Red Devils may face is finding a suitable club willing to meet his wage demands.
Last month, Onana was confident that he would be given a chance to compete for his place when he returned this summer.
