Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis has revealed that Chelsea made a whopping bid of £58 million for their centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly.
Chelsea boss Antoni Conte was desperate to land a quality centre-back at Stamford Bridge to end Chelsea’s defensive woes and the Senegal international was their top priority throughout the summer. De Laurentiis revealed that the Blues made several offers for the centre-back only to return empty-handed on every occasion.
De Laurentiis said: “They offered to me £30m, £35m, £40m, £45m, £50m.’Mr. Conte’, I said, ‘The marina is behind me, follow me’, I offered him that. Last moment, two days before the closing of the market, I hear £58m – something like that
Asked to confirm the £58 million bid, De Laurentiis said: “Yes. He will never say it is true because I know Antonio. Ciao Antonio.”
Any chances of Chelsea securing the signing of the defender looked bleak after Koulibaly signed a new contract with the Serie A outfit until 2021. However, De Laurentiis’ statement will keep them on alert as he admitted that the club will discuss the player’s future after this season.
De Laurentiis said “Koulibaly, this year, will remain here. Next year we will speak about it.”
Chelsea eventually signed their former defender David Luiz from Paris St-Germain for £32 million on the deadline day. There were doubts over whether the Brazil international would be able to solve Chelsea’s problem at the back but Conte has said that Luiz has the potential to become one of the world’s greatest defenders.
He said: “At 29, he is at a fantastic age to become one of the best defenders in the world.
“You can always improve and I’m seeing a great commitment from him.
“This is a great opportunity for him also to improve. I repeat: he has good characteristics to become a fantastic defender.”
Well, the defender has failed to impress so far and Chelsea’s recent dismal performances have compelled the club to look for another centre-back. In eight games so far, the Blues have kept a clean-sheet on only two occasions and have conceded 12 goals in the process. The Blues are recently linked with Juventus star Leonardo Bonucci and are reportedly ready to make a stunning bid of £60 million for the defender.