In-demand Josh Doig has sparked a mammoth transfer battle in Italy with Serie A leaders Napoli fighting it out with Lazio and Bologna to sign the Scotland Under 21 skipper in January.
The former Hibs star has made a big impact since his summer move to Verona and has already scored twice. And the Easter Road side could be in position to cash in again on with their cast-iron sell-on fee if their academy graduate exits. They secured £3m upfront when Verona came calling in the summer. He was promoted into Steve Clarke's full squad for the September games after captaining the Under 21s, but never got off the bench. Doig, 20, has won plenty of praise despite a disastrous season for the club where they have only won once in 15 games and sit bottom of Serie A.
And that's led to high-flying Napoli, fourth placed Lazio and Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson 's side Bologna also making enquiries for Doig's asking price. Bologna tried to sign Doig in the summer when he was leaving Easter Road, but Verona won the race instead. They have reportedly tried to increase their chances of signing the Scot by including midfielder Emanuel Vignato as part of a player swap plus cash deal.
Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti has also been impressed with Doig and wants to strengthen their squad in January as they attempt to push for their first title triumph since 1990.
However, they all face a big ask to land Doig with Verona's new sports director, Sean Sogliano, insisting last week: "There is interest in our players, but our intention is to strengthen and not weaken the squad in January."
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