Ismaël Koné is heading to Italy on a $4 million loan to Serie A returnees Sassuolo. The loan from Marseille comes with a $16 million option to buy if Sassuolo, the Serie B champions, decide to retain Koné at the end of the season.
Napoli leapfrogged AC Milan into second place in Serie A after beating its title rival 1-0 in a mediocre match at San Siro on Sunday.
Torino and Atalanta missed the chance to close in on the qualifying positions for European competition as they drew 1-1 in Serie A on Saturday. They moved level with three other teams and six points below sixth-placed Sampdoria. Most of the sides above them have played a match less, while fifth-placed Lazio and Samp have two matches in hand.
Napoli forward Dries Mertens was back to his best over the weekend, scoring twice in the 2-1 victory over second-place Roma. Then he got hurt. And that could be bad news as Napoli prepares to face Real Madrid on Tuesday for a spot in the Champions League quarterfinals. Defending champion Madrid won the first leg 3-1.
Title-chasing Roma was held to 1-1 at home by relegation-threatened Empoli on Saturday and looks set to lose more ground on Serie A leader Juventus. It was Roma's fourth consecutive league draw, and left it six points behind Juventus, which visits Udinese on Sunday.
