Barcelona midfielder Javier Mascherano is on Napoli's wishlist and the Italian club's manager Rafa Benitez is hoping to pull off a major coup by signing the Argentine on loan.

Napoli's president Aurelio De Laurentiis admits that he is interested in the midfielder, who had spells playing for Premier League duo West Ham and Liverpool: "It's up to Barca. Either they want him to rot on their bench or they want to send him out on loan for a year, maybe then to return to Barcelona reinvigorated by the marvellous atmosphere here in Naples."