Napoli Agree Personal Terms With Boca Winger Zeballos, Now Need Boca's Sign-Off

Certainty level: personal terms agreed, club-to-club deal pending. Napoli have agreed all terms with Exequiel Zeballos on a five-year contract, a agreement in place since May, Fabrizio Romano reported on July 10. Zeballos turned down CSKA Moscow's offer of €20 million net over five years in salary, worth around €4 million a season, choosing to hold out for Napoli instead. Completing the move now depends on Napoli raising funds by selling players first, with the club's opening bid to Boca Juniors set at €10 million, per Romano.

Why this deal has stalled for months

Zeballos has been consistently linked with a Napoli move since at least March, according to reports gathered on TransferFeed, but talks between the clubs stalled repeatedly. Boca Juniors initially wanted around €10 million for the winger, whose contract runs out in December 2026, and only lowered that valuation in recent weeks, Sky Sport Italia reported. Napoli's delay in closing the deal is what let CSKA Moscow into the race in the first place.

Sportitalia's Alfredo Pedullà reported Napoli have now made a formal €10 million offer to Boca Juniors, but the club still needs to move on unwanted players to fund it, with Noa Lang mentioned as a candidate to be sold, according to Football Italia.

Zeballos, 24, has made more than 100 appearances on the wing for Boca Juniors and was recently left out of the club's first team after declining to extend his contract. He played 13 matches for Boca last season, scoring one goal and adding three assists. Transfermarkt currently values him at €7 million.