Arsenal have been dealt a massive blow in their pursuit of Napoli forward Lorenzo Insigne as reports from Italy have claimed that the Partenopei have rejected a  €20m bid for the 23 year old. Naples based newspaper Calcio Napoli has also featured the story.

The Gunners have been heavily linked with the player but the Italian side had earlier rubbished any such claims that their player would leave the Sao Paolo Stadion.

President Aurelio De Laurentiis had laughed off the claims saying, “Arsenal offers 20 million for Insigne This makes me laugh. I want to make Insigne rise to a value of 60-70million.”

Insigne had a terrific 2013-14  Serie A season under manager Rafa Benitez scoring a brace in the Coppa Italia final which gave his side the title. It now appears that the player is determined to stay at the club for as long as possible.

Insigne’s agent claimed, “He dreams of becoming Napoli captain, so today I doubt there are any sides that could put his position in doubt. Of course, the only alternative is if the club decides to do differently. In that case, we’d be forced to re-evaluate our own plans.”