Kalidou Koulibaly is on the brink of leaving Napoli after eight great years. Chelsea have offered around €40M for the star. The move is just missing the final green light by the Partenopei. The defender has a year left on his contract and turned down a massive extension.
As per Sky, the center-back will not reach the location of their pre-season retreat as the transfer is its homestretch. He has already agreed to a five-year contract with the Blues. He would earn €9/10M per season including add-ons.
Napoli were already scouting defenders beforehand and will bring in a pair if they do sell Koulibaly. Leo Ostigard is on the verge of joining from Brighton, but he will not be the only one. The Partenopei have reached out to Francesco Acerbi. He will leave Lazio, which retooled their rearguard. The player is keen, but the Biancocelesti want €5M.
According to Alfredo Pedullà, the Azzurri have been offered Fiorentina’s Nikola Milenkovic. He has the same agent as their star, Fali Ramadani. They have long coveted Fenerbahce’s Min-Jae Kim, but multiple teams are after him. Manchester United’s Eric Bailly and Udinese’s Rodrigo Becao are other possible targets.
Our Take on Napoli Eyeing Substitutes for Koulibaly
Their director openly stating the contractual offer was a little too on the nose and clearly an attempt to pin the blame on the player for the split. They would be foolish not to take the bid and see him walk next summer. The silver lining for them would be that at least he is not going to Juventus. Acerbi would be a very weird signing: he struggles in a four-man line and they already have two veterans. They should go for a reasonably young player with potential but already some experience.