Napoli have struck a deal to sign Benoit Badiashile from Chelsea, the only defender they insistently pursued during the summer, despite a few links to Juventus’ Federico Gatti. He’s joining on loan with an option to buy, as the Partenopei wish, La Gazzetta dello Sport relays.

The Italian team will pay €3M as the fee for the loan, plus eventually €1M in bonuses and €27M if they acquire him permanently next season. They have come to terms on a five-year contract with €2.5M wages, should he stick around past this campaign.

Napoli zeroed in on Badiashile after Alessandro Buongiorno suffered a fairly severe knee injury. The Italian international is the only lefty in their rearguard. Juan Jesus wasn’t retained after his contract expired. Moreover, Sam Beukema is dealing with bilateral tendonitis and might miss time at the beginning of the season. Luca Marianucci recently went down as well.

The formula allows the Azzurri to evaluate the newcomer for a year before deciding what to do. His stay in London has been marred by physical problems. He has made 71 total appearances since arriving from Monaco back in 2023 in a €38M transfer.

Our Take on Napoli Signing Badiashile

They got it done right at the last moment, as they would have been down to bare bones for the opener, but the terms of deals involving castoffs do tend to get better only near the end of the window. If they manage to keep him upright, he could actually be a fine addition for the future as well, as he’s just entering his prime, even though he didn’t pan out at Stamford Bridge.