(Football news) Natan, a 22-year-old defender, is close to an agreement, and Napoli is now working out the details, including how to split the commission payments. Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis was seen pacing up and down while talking on the phone during this afternoon’s training session.

Kim Min-jae was expected to leave in the summer due to the presence of a release clause in his contract, which Bayern Munich exercised for around €50 million. Instead, Napoli is set to pay the €10 million charge.

Natan is 6’2″ tall and spent four years of his adolescence in Flamengo’s juvenile ranks before making his first-team debut against Palmeiras in September 2020. 

He was then loaned to Bragantino for the season of 2021, with the Red Bull-owned club making the move permanent in January 2022 for a sum of roughly €4.3 million.  Natan, a naturally left-footed defender, was originally used as a left-back until being converted to a central defender at Flamengo. 

According to Calciomercato.com, he is a modern’ centre-back who is good with the ball at his feet and effective at taking it out from the back. He is also known to have good physical characteristics and to be aggressive in the tackle. 

There have also been minor injury concerns in his early career, including a knee ligament issue just under three months ago, but he is now fully recovered and has already appeared in five games this season. 

Natan had already piqued the curiosity of Tiago Pinto and Roma. They had submitted an offer of roughly €7.5m plus bonuses around this time last year, but Bragantino’s insistence on a €10m fee ensured that the move did not take place. Instead, Napoli is set to pay the €10 million charge.

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