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Southampton forward Ramirez talks up Napoli transfer

14 October 2013 - 07:48

Southampton's 22-year-old attacking midfielder Gaston Ramirez has dropped his biggest hint yet that he would like to leave St. Mary's after his agent admitted the player has a frosty relationship with club manager Mauricio Pochettino.

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The Saints paid a club record&nbsp;&pound;12 million in August 2012 to sign Ramirez from Bologna and the Uruguayan enjoyed a mixed first season at the club, despite scoring 5 goals in 26 games in the Premier League.<br />

When Ramirez joined Southampton the transfer surprised many as the youngster had been linked with a host of major clubs all over Europe, with AC Milan and Inter Milan both sending scouts to watch the player in action.<br />

It appears that the midfielder is currently out of Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino's first team plans having only played in 3 league games so far in 2013-14 and already there has been talk of a transfer away from England.<br />

Napoli are known to have a long term interest in Ramirez, with manager Rafa Benitez an admirer of the player's qualities.<br />

Southampton are understood to be ready to sell for a fee of around&nbsp;&pound;9million but Napoli have only budgeted around&nbsp;&pound;6 million for a transfer.&nbsp;<br />

Ramirez's agent Pablo Betancourt confirmed that the player's relationship with manager Pochettino has soured: "Napoli is a possibility. Gaston really likes the chairman, Nicola Cortese, but not the coach, Pochettino."

Written by James Turnbull