Napoli rule out HGonzalo iguain sale

Higuain has been linked with a move to the Premier League, with Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United thought to be keen to acquire the 27-year-old's services.

The former Real Madrid star has three years left on his contract with Napoli and the Serie A club have no intention of letting him leave.

"There is absolutely no chance that Higuain will leave," De Laurentiis told Italian TV station Mediaset. "Gonzalo is a Napoli player.

"I have made his (release) clause clear in order to stop the constant speculation that appears in the press.

"There is a precise clause."

Napoli paid Real Madrid 40million euro (£28million) to sign Higuain in the summer of 2013 and any potential suitors would have to splash out €94.7m (£66.8million), Higuain's release clause, to acquire the player.

Higuain has been Napoli's top scorer in the past two seasons. He struck 18 goals and set up seven more in 37 league appearances for Napoli during the 2014-15 campaign.

Higuain is on holiday after helping Argentina to the Copa America final earlier this month but is expected to join Napoli next week to begin work under new coach Maurizio Sarri.

"Higuain played in the Copa America he has the right to a certain number of days off," De Laurentiis said.

Napoli finished fifth in Serie A in 2014-15 and will play in the Europa League next season.

There was always going to be plenty of talk about Gonzalo Higuain this summer after Napoli missed out on a Champions League place. So far it seems like there have been no bids for the Argentine, so it's a lot of hot air and hypothesising at the moment.

De Laurentiis has mentioned the release clause a lot in recent weeks, leading Higuain's agent to suggest that he may actually be looking to sell the striker. It's hard to know what the eccentric chairman wants but, in the end, if an offer does come in, it may well depend on Higuain's desires instead.