But with Napoli now rumoured to be set to sell Ezequiel Lavezzi to Manchester City in the summer, it seems their move for Rossi has stepped up a gear.

Rossi’s agent, Federico Pasterello has dropped the strongest hint yet that the former Manchester United man will be leaving El Madrigal in the summer.

Speaking to Radio Kiss Kiss, Pasterello said: “Lavezzi going to England and Rossi to Napoli? I cannot confirm, but it is a possibility that Lavezzi might leave Napoli.

“I cannot rule out Rossi joining Napoli. After five years at Villarreal, I think that all parties are more susceptible to listening to the offers that arrive.

“We will see, but one thing is clear: Villarreal are open to selling Rossi, and the player is ready to leave the club.”

Italy international Rossi has been a huge success in Spain ever since his 2007 move away from Old Trafford.

In 136 league appearances for Villarreal, he has notched a total of 54 goals, but now appears to have played his last game for the club.

A ligament injury to Rossi’s right knee that he picked up in the 3-0 loss to Real Madrid back in October meant he was ruled out for six months. It now appears as though he will not play again this season.

A number of clubs in England, Italy and Spain have already been linked with a move for the striker, including last season’s Champions’ League winners, Barcelona.

Antonio Di Natale and Pablo Osvaldo have missed out on the squad too as the Italy boss is clearly keen to test the partnership of Alessandro Matri and Sebastian Giovinco up front this week.

As mentioned though, he is still hopeful that Rossi – along with Antonio Cassano – can get himself fit in the next few months, booking his place on the plane to Poland and Ukraine in the process.

Prandelli said: “With 100 days to go until Euro 2012, we have to reconstruct the attack. I want to wait until the last minute for Giuseppe Rossi and Antonio Cassano.”

“Matri gives us depth, while Giovinco is good at finding his position between the lines and can score goals too.”

“It did not seem right for me to call Antonio Di Natale so soon after an injury. It’s not as if he needs to be tested out, as I already know where he can play.”

As for Balotelli – arguably the biggest omission from the squad – Prandelli has said that the Manchester City striker needs to be careful in the next few months, otherwise he faces the prospect of missing out on Euro 2012.

The Italian boss continued: “Balotelli was handed eight games of suspension, so far, in England. It is a lot. A great player must be able to face provocation, he should not react.”

“He can still have an extraordinary career, but there is no justification for certain kinds of behaviour.”

As for Rossi, he is currently back in light training after a long injury lay-off and will hope that he can return to first-team action soon. Then, the key is finding form before the season is out.

There are not many opportunities in a career to represent your country at a major tournament of course, so Rossi – who has been first choice under Prandelli on many occasions – has good reason to get himself fit.

As for how Rossi has been doing at Villarreal since joining in 2007, there is no doubt that he has been a force in Spain, scoring 54 goals in 136 appearances for the club. It may not have worked out for him at Manchester United, but in Spain he has been a revelation and this has led to him becoming one of the main men for his country too.

Now he just needs to get himself fit…

His absence is a major blow for Villarreal, who have struggled this season in La Liga and in the Champions League, as financial constraints imposed on the club have blocked transfers and reportedly forced the sale of key man Santi Cazorla to Malaga over the summer.

Much of Villarreal’s hopes were pinned on the former Manchester United youngster Rossi this season, who his 18 goals in 36 league appearances last term, but his absence means they must now rely on a youthful squad before his return. Those following the betting will know the side have struggled lately.

His long-term future remains uncertain and fans will be concerned by recent comments from the striker’s agent which claim he would be keen to leave if the right club came calling after again heavily being linked with a move to Napoli.

The Serie A side, who wanted Rossi in the summer, have impressed in this season’s Champions League alongside Villarreal in Group A and are just one game away from qualifying for the knockout phase with Bayern Munich.

When asked whether his client would be interested in a move to Naples, Pastorello admitted it remains an attractive proposition for the 24-year-old.

“Rossi to Napoli? It’s normal that Napoli would be considered as they are great club and many players, Rossi aside, would like to join them because they are doing well in the Champions League,” Pastorello told Radio Kiss Kiss.

“Also, Napoli have the advantage of now being able to attract top players in the transfer window compared to the past.”

The former Manchester United youngster had again been the stand-out player for the side known as ‘the Yellow Submarine’ and, following the summer departure of Santi Cazorla, Rossi was being relied upon to fire in the goals that could lead them up the table following a difficult start. Those looking at the football betting odds will know this.

However, he is now facing months out and some observers feel the 24-year-old will struggle to regain his top form and fitness in time for Italy’s Euro campaign in Poland and Ukraine.

Lippi, though, is upbeat over the key man’s ability to get over the injury setback and has backed him to come through the spell out without too many problems.

Italy are also without AC Milan’s Antonio Cassano for the next six months but Lippi is sure they will both be back in time for next summer’s tournament.

“They’ll both recover for Euro 2012,” Lippi, who stepped down from the national job after the disappointing 2010 World Cup, insisted.

“It’ll be just like when Francesco Totti did for my national side in 2006.

“I like this new Italy team and they seem to have the same sort of spirit as we had in Germany five years ago.”

Villarreal, currently 12th in La Liga, have been hit by financial constraints in the past few years that has seen the likes of Diego Forlan, Juan Roman Riquelme and Cazorla all depart and the second-place league finish of 2008 now seems another world away.

Rossi, who hit a superb 28 goals in all competitions last season, has been one of the shining lights in a difficult period for the club and, even though he should be back to boost his country in Euro 2012, his absence for Villarreal is a big blow to their league hopes.

It took just eight minutes for Rossi to get on the scoresheet, grabbing a typical poacher’s goal. The striker latched on to Catala’s ball into the left-hand channel, before slotting it under the on-rushing goalkeeper Dudu Aouate. Anyone following the football betting will have been impressed by the side’s start.

It was Nilmar who sealed the points in the second half, when the Brazilian picked up a pass from Valero before rounding the keeper and rolling the ball into the net.

The result will come as a much-needed boost for Villarreal, having picked up just one point from a possible nine in their opening three matches and the La Liga betting shows they now need to push on.

Of bigger concern for coach Juan Carlos Garrido would have been the lack of goals – with Villarreal drawing a blank in three of their last four games prior to the win over Mallorca.

But now Rossi is back on the scoresheet, expect the Champions League qualifiers (currently 12th) to start moving up the La Liga table in the coming weeks.

Villarreal will look for a first away win this term, when they face Athletic Bilbao on Saturday before facing a European away day at Napoli next Tuesday.

But the former Manchester United man signed a new contract earlier this year and Villarreal are delighted to have tied down a player who has scored 52 goals in 129 appearances for his current club.

The stats seem to point to another successful night for the 24-year-old, who scored 32 goals in all competitions last term and the Champions League 2011-12 betting shows he could make a significant impact.

Rossi netted the equaliser for Italy against Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer for Italy in their international friendly against Germany in February and the striker will pose another threat to Neuer on Wednesday.

The La Liga outfit have also done well against German opposition at El Madrigal, winning two and drawing one of their three home meetings against Bundesliga sides. Fans of online football betting should bear this in mind.

Bayern meanwhile, have a poor away record against Spanish opposition, winning four, drawing four and losing nine of their 17 encounters heading into Group A.

Rossi is expected to be partnered up front by Brazilian Nilmar, who has back after injury, while Diego Lopez will start in goal despite being sent off against Seville at the weekend.

Villarreal will also be boosted by the news that Arjen Robben will not feature for Bayern, as the Dutch winger could be out for a month with a back injury.

And it now appears as though Mazzarri could choose to sell star player, Ezequiel Lavezzi in order to fund the move.

Lavezzi has been linked with a big money move to Inter Milan or Zenit St Petersburg, and if it means Rossi returning to Italy, that move could soon happen.

“We need 22 players in the squad, that’s also what (Jose) Mourinho says. If someone offers me Giuseppe Rossi I would only be happy,” Mazzarri admitted.

And he believes that there are few players in world football that can be compared to the Italian international.

He added: “Until now the names that have been mentioned weren’t at Giuseppe Rossi’s level and that’s why I’ve always said I don’t want other forwards.

“But as for Rossi, I hope he arrives tomorrow. That would be a great present and would make us take a step up in terms of quality.”

Although Lavezzi may have to leave the club before a move for Rossi can go ahead, the chance to play the two together excites Mazzarri.

He said: “I wouldn’t have any problem leaving one of Rossi, Cavani, Lavezzi and Hamsik on the bench, not least because we’ll be playing every three days.

“I want to manage top players whether it is Rossi, (Carlos) Tevez, Nilmar or (Mario) Balotelli.

“I’d love to manage four top quality forwards.”

Rossi scored an incredible 29 goals last season, putting his name amongst La Liga’s star players Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

He began his career with Manchester United, enjoying loan spells with Parma in his homeland and Newcastle United.

United failed to see Rossi’s huge potential, however, and while there are some at the club who still believe Rossi is unable to fill Ashley Young’s boots, that they let him join Villarreal for a paltry €10 million in 2007 has proved to be a costly mistake.

It could prove to have been a wise investment for the Castellón based side with figures upwards of €30 million now being reported.

Tottenham are alleged – by the Evening Standard – to have placed seven players, including Peter Crouch, David Bentley, and Wilson Palacios, on the transfer market, in a desperate bid to finance the purchase of Rossi. However, even if Crouch and Palacios are sold to current suitors, Stoke, the London club could still find themselves unable to afford the estimated £28-35m on Rossi’s head.

Spurs have tried to buy the Italian-American once before, in January 2011, but Rossi was unwilling to make the switch to White Hart Lane or to rival bidders, Juventus. The reasoning behind Rossi’s reluctance to leave Villarreal is not clear, but free newspaper, the Metro, intimated that the 24-year-old is simply being “picky” about his next destination. However, those keeping track of the Betfair Euro 2012 betting may wonder if he wants to ensure he plays at a big club, in order to stay in the frame for the national side.

However, it is likely that Villarreal will now try to keep Rossi at El Madrigal, given that the circumstances that forced the club to listen to offers for their star player expired with the sale of Santi Cazorla to Malaga. Villarreal had been struggling to pay the bills, prior to Cazorla’s exit, in July.

Federico Pastorello, Rossi’s agent, was quick to confirm that his client had been removed from the transfer market, following Cazorla’s exit. Betfair international football fans may be slightly baffled by these goings on.

Redknapp will first have to persuade Tottenham’s chairman, Daniel Levy, to part with Luka Modric, before the former West Ham manager can even think about buying Rossi. Levy has proven a difficult man to break regarding the Croat, but he has begun to show some evidence of weakening.

Levy, whether intentionally or not, recently suggested that the sale of Modric would “in all honesty” allow Spurs to “have a better team”, as the proceeds would allow Tottenham to buy “three or four” new players.

Rossi’s early years were spent at Parma until Manchester United bought his contract when he was 17. He struggled to make an immediate impact at Man United and was loaned out to Newcastle. His time at Newcastle panned out similarly making 11 appearances without scoring. Fans of Carling Cup football betting may remember that he did grab a goal in that competition.

Soon after he was loaned out to his former club Parma, where he saved the side from relegation by scoring 9 goals in 19 games. The Red Devils saw the opportunity to cash in on the in-form striker and managed to claim a fee of £6 million from Villarreal for the out-of-favour forward.

Since moving to the Spanish outfit, Rossi improved his game dramatically and in 127 appearances managed to score a total of 51 goals. The 2010/11 season saw Rossi make his breakthrough with an exceptional goal scoring record of 32 goals in 56 appearances in all competitions. Those following the Champions League betting will be wondering what sort of impact he will have this season.

Sir Alex Ferguson must be kicking himself now for releasing such a talented player for a relatively small price. He would fit in well with the likes of Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez.

Reports suggest that he is flattered by the rumours of his proposed move to Barcelona, although he would have to raise his game again in order to fight his way into such a talented team.

Villarreal needed to sell this summer in order to balance the books but after they accepted a bid of around €20 million they no longer needed to cash in on Rossi, meaning he is likely to stay in Spain for at least another year.

Barcelona looked the Italian international’s most likely destination at the start of the summer as the man tipped to top the goal scoring tables at the European Championships next year in the Euro 2012 odds , and when that move fell through, Juventus took up the mantle as favourites for his signature.

But when talks broke down over the transfer fee, a window opened up that allowed the Cazorla deal to go through which put an end to any move for Rossi.

Now Rossi’s agent Federico Pastorello has told Sky Italia that his client will stay in Spain, but admitted the American born forward had his heart set on a switch to Juventus.

“Giuseppe Rossi has officially been taken off the market after they sold Santi Cazorla to Malaga,” Federico Pastorello said.

“The economic problems which the club had have now been resolved by that [€19 million] transfer. Nevertheless, this decision has liberated Rossi as he’s now just focusing on playing football and scoring goals.”

“He’s not used to being at the centre of such negotiations and tension. He wanted Juventus, but he’s accepted the position taken by the president of Villarreal.” He added.

Rossi earned his reputation as one of the most clinical forwards in Europe after he bagged 32 goals last season in all competitions as he helped Villarreal to Champions League qualification, justifying his place as one of the Euro 2012 betting favourites for the leading goalscorers accolade next year.