Napoli President Laughs off Arsenal Interest in Lorenzo Insigne

Napoli have laughed off reports suggesting Arsenal are poised to launch a £20m offer for Lorenzo Insigne, insisting the forward's true value is somewhere closer to the region of '60 or 70 million.'

The Gunners were credited with interest in the Italy international last Friday, reports which drew a positive reaction from Insigne's agent who admitted the 23-year-old was "honoured" to be linked with a move to north London.

But while Arsene Wenger is expected to bolster his attacking options this summer, Napoli have told Arsenal their reported valuation of the player is some way off theirs.

"Arsenal offers 20 million for Insigne? This makes me laugh" Napoli's outspoken president Aurelio de Laurentiis told Repubblica. "I want to make Insigne rise to a value of 60 – 70 million."

Despite spending over £80m as part of a summer transfer window that saw the arrivals of Gonzalo Higuain, Jose Callejon, Dries Mertens and Raul Albiol, Napoli were unable to threaten Juventus' dominance of Serie A, finishing 24 points behind the Bianconeri.

In efforts to close that gap, Rafa Benitez's side have been linked with moves for Tottenham Hotspur duo Erik Lamela and Sandro. But while de Laurentiis admits the club are considering a move for the Brazilian midfielder, Tottenham's club record transfer Lamela is not part of their plans.

"Rumours about our interest in him (Lamela) are only agent's games.

"I wanted him a year ago but they didn't allow the deal. Roma offered us (Dani) Osvaldo instead. "Now, with Benitez, we don't need Lamela anymore.

"Sandro? He is one of our target, but not the only one."

Arsenal's efforts to address the shortcomings that saw their domestic title challenge fall by the wayside will largely focus on bolstering their forward line.

The club are understood to have waived their option to resign Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona after the midfielder was made available with Wenger satisfied with his current creative options. The Frenchman's focus lies further up the pitch, where Loic Remy and Mario Balotelli remain persistently linked with moves to the Emirates.