The agency of former Leeds United keeper Elia Caprile has revealed that Serie A champions Napoli beat out Benfica and ‘other high-end Italian teams’ to recruit him last year.
The Verona-born glovesman made no first-team appearances in two years at Elland Road, from 2020 to 2022. Things would have been different if Ilan Mesler hadn’t established himself as Leeds United’s go-to number one at the time, putting the Yorkshire giants in a somewhat privileged – albeit brief – position of having two goalkeepers of such evident talent in their ranks.
There was no room at Leeds for both of them, so Elia Caprile returned to Italy with Bari and quickly established himself as the best shot-stopper in Serie B.
He was so impressive that Napoli had to compete with some rather big clubs both at home and abroad before signing the former Italy under-21 ace for £6 million in July.
Napoli beat Benfica to former Leeds United player.
“He went to Naples because he really wanted to; otherwise, he would have stayed in Bari,” Graziano Battistini tells TV Play. “It’s a fantastic group that encourages the boy’s ambition.
“Having said that, there were other interested clubs. Consider Benfica and other top-tier Italian teams.”
Caprile is currently on loan at Empoli, replacing Guglielmo Vicario and making up for missed time following an injury-plagued start to the season. He was one of the standout performers in last week’s 1-1 draw with title-chasing Juventus, a performance that will have boosted his chances of starting between the posts for parent club Napoli in the near future.
A future number one for the Serie A champions?
“Caprile has experienced a difficult start to the season due to the injury which has created problems in his growth,” according to his agent.
“Napoli demonstrated last year, in the manner in which the operation was carried out, that they believe in and are focused fiercely on a blue future. Now, he is motivated and wants to contribute to Empoli’s survival, which would be remarkable given that they have never been in Serie A for more than three consecutive years.
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