Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has claimed that the club are hoping to sign Sampdoria midfielder Roberto Soriano in January.
It looked like Soriano was on his way to the club after fighting off AC Milan to agree a deal for his services, but they were unable to complete the signing before Monday's deadline and will be forced to restart negotiations with his agent Manuel Montipo in the winter window.
"This country prevents us from doing the bureaucracy quickly. I said to Montipo and to Sampdoria that the deal wasn't done due to the cumbersome nature of our institutions, and we arranged to meet in January to complete the deal," De Laurentiis told Radio Kiss Kiss Napoli.
Soriano has won four caps for Italy.
