Why could Mexico international Hirving ‘Chucky’ Lozano be forced to leave Serie A leaders Napoli?

15 points clear at the top of Serie A with 13 matches left to play. there’s little for Napoli to worry about on the pitch right now. But it appears as if they have plenty of work to do off it. The Azzurri are in the process of tying several players down to new contracts, with Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport reporting that those who will be most ‘complicated’ to keep are head coach Luciano Spalletti, goalkeeper Alex Meret, midfielder Piotr Zielinski and...Mexican wing wizard Hirving ‘Chucky’ Lozano.

The local media in Naples - particularly Il Mattino - are especially pessimistic when it comes to the prospect of the former Pachuca attacker extending his stay at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, claiming that there is little chance of the two parties being able to agree a deal.

Napoli’s new wage structure

The main obstacle to Lozano prolonging his spell in Italy is salary-related: it is believed that Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentis wants to set up a total salary cap of €75 million per season, which would require a number of current players to take pay cuts. That includes the Mexico international, who currently earns €4 million per season but would only earn €2.5 million under the club’s new wage structure. It appears as if an ultimatum is on the table: accept the new terms or leave in the summer.

At the end of the first leg of Napoli’s Champions League round of 16 tie against Eintracht Frankfurt, Lozano revealed that he hadn’t given much thought to signing a new contract in Camapnia and preferred to focus on on-field matters with the club all but certain to win Serie A and also hopeful of European glory.