Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has said his club are set to miss out on the signing of Udinese midfielder Piotr Zielinski as he is set to join Liverpool.
Napoli have had a bid for Zielinski accepted by their Serie A counterparts Udinese, but De Laurentiis says they have been unable to convince the player to move to Naples since he has his heart set on moving to Merseyside.
"The lad prefers Liverpool," De Laurentiis told the Il Mattino newspaper. "Clearly he's never been to Naples before and probably he's in love with The Beatles. If he doesn't want to come, then he won't come. If I were him, though, I would drop everything and run here."
De Laurentiis added to Mediaset television that it had taken "just 20 minutes to reach an agreement with [Udinese president Giampaolo] Pozzo when he came to Rome, but it's the player who is refusing [to join]."
Poland international Zielinski previously played under Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri on loan at Empoli, but not even his presence in Naples is likely to convince the 22-year-old to remain in Serie A.
The highly rated midfielder scored five goals in 35 appearances for Empoli last season.
