Manchester City may be forced to switch their attentions to Ivory Coast midfielder Jean Michael Seri with Napoli refusing to budge on their £60million valuation of Jorginho.
Seri, who currently plies his trade with in France with Nice, is available for £36million and Pep Guardiola is now seriously considering the 26-year-old as a cheaper alternative to Jorginho.
Arsenal and West Ham are also interested in Seri, but the Premier League champions would move into pole position if they firmed up their interest with a bid.
The Blues are running out of patience with Napoli, despite Jorginho’s desire to move to the Etihad.
Guardiola pinpointed Brazili-born Italian international as a potential replacement for out-of-contract Yaya Toure when City played Napoli in the Champions League last season.
After deciding that Brazilian international Fred was too expensive at the £43million being quoted by Shakhtar Donetsk, the Blues moved in for Jorginho with a £50million offer.
That bid was knocked back by Napoli’s tough-talking president Aurelio De Laurentiis.
And De Laurentiis then told City not to return unless they were willing to meet his full £60million valuation in full.