Kalidou Koulibaly could leave Napoli this summer, with clubs such as Juventus and Chelsea keeping a close eye on his situation in Naples.
Transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio understands that Chelsea have identified Kalidou Koulibaly as a potential transfer target this summer.
While speaking to Wett Freunde, the Italian journalist revealed that Chelsea could sign Koulibaly because he would be a cheaper option in this transfer window than Milan Skriniar and Matthijs de Ligt. While asked about the Senegalese’s possible destinations, Di Marzio said:
“Koulibaly has a one-year contract at Napoli and he is the first target for Barcelona, but Barcelona cannot afford the deal with Napoli at the moment. They want him at the end of his contract. But Juventus also want him if De Ligt were to leave.
“Chelsea also want him because Skriniar and De Ligt come at a heavy price. Koulibaly is also not the youngest anymore, but he is an incredible leader in defense and he is one of the defenders who can leave in the next few days. Of all those players like Skriniar and De Ligt, Koulibaly has the lower price because he only has one year left on his contract.
“But it is the most difficult club because finding a solution with [Aurelio] De Laurentiis could take even more weeks. Even though Koulibaly has one year left on his contract, finding an agreement with De Laurentiis is very, very difficult.
“[Luciano] Spalletti wants him to stay until the end of the contract and they will try to extend the contract but I don’t think he will extend it.”
As reported previously, Napoli have offered the defender a new contract renewal worth a fixed salary of €5 million per season plus €1 million in additional bonuses.
The club is currently awaiting the 31-year-old’s response to that proposal. If he doesn’t sign a contract extension with the Naples-based side, he will be free to move on to pastures new next summer.
GIFN | Jyotirmoy Halder
