Chelsea’s interest in Kalidou Koulibaly is no secret, as they have chased the player right throughout this transfer window, but recent development doesn’t really seems to favour them. It’s a major setback for Chelsea and their manager Antonio Conte, as they saw their £42 million bid rejected by Napoli.
The Blues are in the hunt for a defender ahead of the new EPL season, as Kurt Zouma is expected to take awhile to return from a serious knee injury. Currently, their defence department has John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic and Gary Cahill to play in the middle of defence. With the former two on the wrong side of 30 and past their prime, Conte is keen to bring in a potent defender before the transfer window closes.
According to Evening Standard, Chelsea has offered the Serie A club a £37 million fee and further £5 million add-ons to lure the Senegalese defender away from Napoli. The player has been offered a 5-year contract worth £60k per week to play at The Bridge.
It is believed that the 25-year-old defender has rejected a new contract and is in no mood to continue at Napoli for the coming season. He has been the center of interest from quite a few clubs but Chelsea remain the frontrunner as far as initial bids are concerned.
However, Napoli seem to be assessing the situation, as they fear losing their man eventually to a higher bid and have already made transfer targets for his replacement. They already have Nikola Maksimovic of Torino lined up as his worthy replacement in case they have to part ways with the Senegalese.
Kalidou Koulibaly came to Napoli in 2014 from Belgian club Racing Genk, in a deal worth £6.5 million and the contract extending for 5 years. His solid performance at the back for the Serie A club caught the attention of many European giants.
Born in France and brought up by Senegalese parents he is eligible to play for both the countries. He played U-20 for the French only to switch to Senegal National team in 2015.
With City completing a record move for Everton defender John Stones and Mourinho getting Eric Bailly, Conte will now be desperate to land a defender as they ready themselves to challenge for the Premier League.
