Napoli star Kalidou Koulibaly is close to leaving the club amid an unlikely contract extension with Chelsea among four clubs in the race for the centre-back, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Napoli are reportedly trying to reduce their wage bills after missing out on the Champions League in the last two seasons.
The club president Aurelio De Laurentiis reportedly does not want to change the plans despite their third-place finish this season and return to Champions League next season.
Among those who might be affected by the plans is Koulibaly.
The 30-year-old will soon enter the final year of his contract in Naples, but the club, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, is only willing to offer him a new contract which would see him earn just half of his current salary.
The report added that Koulibaly and his representatives are unsurprisingly not satisfied by such an offer, and the player is closer to leaving than staying at the club.
From Napoli’s point of view, cashing on the centre-back this season would obviously be a better financial option than potentially losing him on a free transfer next summer.
De Laurentiis clearly knows that, as Napoli have reportedly set a €40million (£34m) price tag on the Senegal international.
The report claims that Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are both involved in the transfer race, but Barcelona and Juventus are leading.
How would Koulibaly fit in at Chelsea?
After Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen’s confirmed departures, Chelsea desperately need new centre-backs to fill the void.
Sevilla star Jules Kounde is reportedly close to being the Blues’ first summer signing under new ownership, but bringing in Koulibaly, along with his experience and leadership qualities, would only benefit the club.
Despite Thiago Silva’s consistent performance in the last two seasons, Thomas Tuchel has expressed his concerns over the Brazil international’s fitness level.
Koulibaly mostly plays in a back four at Napoli, but similar to Silva, he can comfortably play a ball-playing defender role.
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