Prosecutor asks for investigation into Napoli transfer, following Juventus points deduction

Napoli could be the latest club to be investigated in Serie A, after the prosecutor called for the league leaders to be looked into over certain transfers.

On Friday night, the shocking news came out that Juventus were being deducted 15 points, after an investigation found them to have broken capital gain violations.

It came in the wake of their entire board quitting the club at the end of last year and a long investigation into the club over payments to players for three years.

The punishment, that the club are likely to appeal, dropped them down from third in the league, and well in the race for the Champions League, down to 10th.

The original investigation had included other teams but they were dropped from the recent decision, due to further evidence into the Old Lady.

Now FIGC prosecutor Giuseppe Chine has started working on investigations into other clubs, and the problems with artificially inflating transfer fees to boost capital gains.

According to Italian outlet La Repubblica, Chine has requested to see evidence gathered for a fraud investigation into Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis.

The investigation looked into documents to do with transfer activity, including the signing of star forward Victor Osimhen from Lille in 2020.

Osimhen's transfer could be looked into. Image: Alamy

The Nigerian striker moved to Italy for an initial €72 million, plus a further €10 million in bonuses, which wouldn't seemed an unrealistic fee considering his ability and goalscoring record.

Napoli also sent four players totalling €20 million in value to the Ligue 1 side as part of the deal, though none of them have made an impact in Lille.

Goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis, who played nine times for the Italian side, moved to France and played one cup game for the senior team, before being relegated to the second team.

Three youngsters also moved from the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium at the time, but they were loaned out to lower league sides and later had their contracts terminated in France.

The Prisma investigation into Juventus, that led to their punishment, found wiretaps from club directors talking about exaggerated transfer fees, whether the same kind of evidence into Napoli could be found may decide if they are punished.

Juventus' board quit during the investigation. Image: Alamy

If they were found guilty of any wrongdoing, it could be disastrous for Luciano Spalletti's team, who are currently top of Serie A.

They currently lead the league by 12 points from AC Milan, with Inter Milan a further point behind, as they chase their first league title since 1990.

They have only won it twice in their history, with 1987 being the only previous time, both times led by Diego Maradona, who the stadium is now named after.

A third title, coming just two and a half years after the legend's death, would be huge for the city and the last thing they need is a points deduction getting in their way.