Napoli test Chelsea’s patience on Kalidou
CHELSEA have told Napoli that they have made their final offer for central defender Kalidou Koulibaly and are now actively pursuing alternatives in case the Italian club refuse to let him go.
That could open the door for Chelsea to make a £25-million (R339million) bid for Torino defender Nikola Maksimovic, who is also wanted by Napoli and last week went on strike to try to force through a transfer, but AC Milan have warned the Blues off a move for Alessio Romagnoli.
Koulibaly emerged as Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte’s first-choice defensive target over the past month, but the Blues have failed with a series of bids for the 25-year-old.
The last offer is understood to have been around £40-million (R714-million) and Chelsea have informed Napoli that they are unwilling to significantly increase that bid ahead of the closure of the transfer window a week tomorrow.
With time running out and Conte determined to sign a defender, Chelsea are working through their list of alternatives.
Napoli want Koulibaly to sign a new contract with the club, but it is understood the player would prefer to move to Stamford Bridge.
It remains to be seen whether Chelsea’s interest in Maksimovic changes Napoli’s thinking.
Keeping an unhappy player with the threat of missing out on their firstchoice replacement could leave the Italian club in a difficult position.
Conte has been keen to recruit a new defender from Serie A, where he knows the market best from his time as Juventus manager and as head coach of Italy, but Chelsea have found the market difficult.
Having quickly realised that Leonardo Bonucci could not be prised away from Juve, Conte targeted Koulibaly only to find that Napoli want huge money for the Senegal international.
Italian sources say inquiry for Romagnoli, 21, has been rejected by AC Milan, which leaves Chelsea short on options in Italy aside from Maksimovic and Lazio’s Stefan de Vrij.
On the future of Maksimovic, who has been compared to his fellow Serb Nemanja Vidic and Juventus star Leonardo Bonucci, Torino director of sport Gianluca Petrachi said: “We’ve been talking to Napoli about Maksimovic since January, so there’s been too much talk and not enough action.
“Now he is wanted by a big foreign club too, but at the same time we won’t rule out him staying too. It’s not just Napoli who want Maksimovic, but also a big club from abroad.”
Asked if the big club from abroad was Chelsea, Petrachi added: “It is an English club and the Premier League does have greater financial resources than other leagues.”
Having signed striker Michy Batshuayi and midfielder N’Golo Kanté, Conte had hoped to secure another four players in August— The Daily Telegraph 7pm on SS7 LIVE UEFA Champions League, playoff second leg: Manchester City v Steaua Bucharest – 8.40pm on SS3; and Rostov v Ajax – 8.40pm on SS5 LIVE