Exequiel Zeballos: From Almost Napoli to Monza

Exequiel Zeballos was supposed to be dressing in Napoli blue by now. Personal terms agreed, a clear role mapped out, the move all but framed. Then Boca Juniors slammed the door.

A few frantic weeks later, he walked through a different one.

From almost Napoli to Monza

Napoli had lined up Zeballos as a sharp, versatile attacking option and put around €10m plus add-ons on the table. The player was in. Boca were not. The Argentine club rejected the offer, even with the 24-year-old’s contract running down towards its December 31 expiry.

That refusal changed the market for him. With time ticking and his deal close to its end, Zeballos instead completed a surprise deadline-day switch to Monza, a very different Serie A destination to the one first expected.

Monza moved smartly. The Italian side are believed to have paid roughly €4m for 60 per cent of his contract, leaving Boca Juniors with 40 per cent of any future sale. A smaller fee now, a bet on a bigger one later.

Maradona, Milan and a quick decision

Zeballos landed in Italy and faced the cameras at Milan airport, still processing how quickly his future had spun.

"It all happened so fast, I will speak with coach Ivan Juric today," he said, outlining how late and sudden the Monza move had been.

There was a deeper pull behind his choice of league.

"I wanted to come to Italy because my father's idol is Maradona," he added, tying his own journey to the country where Diego Maradona became a legend and to the club, Napoli, that had almost signed him.

Paredes, Napoli talks and a different path

The Napoli option did not just exist on paper. Inside the Boca dressing room, Zeballos had a sounding board in Leandro Paredes, who knows Serie A as well as anyone after spells with Roma and Juventus.

"It's true, Paredes gave me a lot of advice, especially when we were talking about Napoli," Zeballos revealed. The guidance came, the agreement with Napoli was there, but the final say belonged to Boca.

Once that route closed, Monza stepped into the space. The club may not have Napoli’s history or Maradona’s shadow on its walls, but it now owns the majority of a player with clear upside and a point to prove in Europe.

A wide threat for Juric

On the pitch, Zeballos brings flexibility. A wide attacker who can operate on either flank, he leaves Boca Juniors having scored 16 goals and delivered 16 assists across 140 competitive appearances. Those numbers do not scream superstar, but they hint at a player who contributes regularly and can grow in a more open, transition-heavy league.

Juric now gets a 24-year-old who can stretch games, attack full-backs and offer different angles in the final third. Boca retain a hefty slice of his future, Monza get the present, and Zeballos finally gets his shot in Italy.

Not in Naples. Not under the shadow of Maradona’s old balcony. Instead, in Monza, where he has the chance to write a very different kind of Serie A story.