Napoli is reportedly evaluating the potential return of defender Juan Jesus to bolster their squad as the club manages a series of defensive setbacks. The Brazilian, who celebrated his 35th birthday last month, became a free agent after his previous contract with the club was allowed to expire on June 30.
The interest in a reunion follows significant injury concerns for new coach Max Allegri. Alessandro Buongiorno is expected to be sidelined for two to three months after it was discovered during pre-season training that he requires surgery to reconstruct the root of his knee's meniscus ligament. Furthermore, Sam Beukema remains unavailable as he continues to recover from fitness issues that caused him to miss the conclusion of last season.
Juan Jesus has been in Italy since 2012, playing for Inter and Roma before coming to Napoli as a free agent in the summer of 2021. Despite the interest from his former club, the veteran defender is currently weighing several other proposals. These include offers from Venezia in Serie A, Deportivo La Coruna in Spain, and Atletico Mineiro in his home country of Brazil.
Any potential move to bring Juan Jesus back to Naples faces a logistical hurdle. Napoli is currently operating under strict squad limits and would be required to sell one of their over-22 players to create an available roster slot before they could register him.
According to Il Mattino newspaper and Tuttomercatoweb, the solution might be a familiar face, because Juan Jesus just became a free agent when his contract was allowed to run down on June 30.
