OFFICIAL: Karnezis leaves Udinese for Napoli
After five years on the books of Udinese, Greek international goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis has moved, signing a contract with Napoli.
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Since joining Udinese in 2013, 32-year old Karnezis has spent spells on loan at Granada and Watford, most recently playing with the latter in the English Premier League during the 2017/2018 season. However, on Thursday, Napoli released this following statement which confirmed Karnezis’ arrival:
“Napoli announces that it has signed Orestis Karnezis from Udinese.”
On Twitter, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis also announced the deal, welcoming Karnezis to the club.
Interestingly, Karnezis is a part of a double transfer made by Napoli from Udinese, with fellow shot stopper and teammate Alex Meret joining the Greek in moving to Naples. According to various reports, the signings of the two goalkeepers amounts to a grand total of 28 million euros. Karnezis and Meret have been drafted in to replace the experienced Pepe Reina who signed for AC Milan.
Karnezis began his career at OFI, later playing for Panathinaikos in Greece before travelling abroad to Udinese, where he would participate in 108 Serie A matches over the course of five years. As previously mentioned, Karnezis was immediately dished out on loan to Granada in 2013, competing in six La Liga fixtures. In the 2017/2018 campaign, the goalkeeper conceded 24 goals in 15 English Premier League games as a loanee at Watford.
With the Greek national team, Karnezis is the number one goaltender, currently boasting 49 caps to his name. He will expect to be Napoli’s first choice next season.
