Napoli manager Rafael Benitez has said that he wanted to bring Andre Schurrle to the club before his move to Wolfsburg.
The German international joined the Bundesliga high-flyers for a reported fee of £22m in January after a frustrating spell at Chelsea.
"Wolfsburg are a strong side with huge potential, so we will give 100% in this difficult game," Benitez is quoted as saying by Football Italia.
"It's true we tracked Luiz Gustavo, Ivan Perisic and Andre Schurrle for a long time, but it was not possible to sign them."
Napoli will travel to Wolfsburg for the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday evening.
No Data Analysis info
Germany
Switzerland
Hungary
Scotland
Spain
Italy
Croatia
Albania
England
Denmark
Slovenia
Serbia
Austria
France
Netherlands
Poland
Romania
Belgium
Slovakia
Ukraine
Portugal
Turkey
Georgia
Czech Republic