Empoli reject Napoli bid for Riccardo Saponara

Empoli sporting director Marcello Carli has said that the club have turned down an offer from Napoli for Riccardo Saponara.

The 23-year-old enjoyed an impressive loan spell at the Azzurri last season and he has now signed on a permanent basis from AC Milan.

Empoli have already lost their manager Maurizio Sarri and first-team regular Mirko Valdifiori to Napoli this summer, but Carli says that they remain confident of keeping hold of Saponara

"Saponara? I think we can keep him," Carli told Radio Blu. "If we lose him then we'd have to consider changing our system, but we want to focus on him. Napoli gave us a nice offer, but we resisted.

"The mercato is a little difficult for us, but if we don't get offers before August 5 then we'd have to take some decisions [about whether to sell].

"He's doing very well, he hasn't applied any pressure and is happy to stay."

Saponara scored seven goals for Empoli last season to help them retain their Serie A status.