Benitez close to agreeing new Napoli deal

Rafa Benitez's agent is "optimistic" he will soon reach an agreement with the Serie A club for his client to remain in Naples beyond this summer.

Benitez's current deal expires at the end of this season and his agent Manuel Garcia Quilon held constructive talks in Naples on Thursday with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis over the new contract.

"I'm an optimist by nature," Quilon said to Italian TV channel Mediaset. "The deal will not be completed today but we will need at least four or five days.

"When there are two people at the negotiating table you can't say with any certainty that a deal will be struck. The negotiations are ongoing."