Napoli prefer Koulibaly to stay but won’t stand on his way to Chelsea

Speculations have been raising surrounding a possible move to

for

Kalidou Koulibaly

, with

open to accepting the €40m transfer fee.

Reports suggested that he would arrive at the Dimaro training ground this evening, but he will most likely not reunite with his teammates, going straight to London.

“I prefer Koulibaly to be with us always, especially as he would be captain this season,”

said coach Luciano Spalletti during this evening’s Q&A with the fans.

“If he chooses to leave, we will never stop thanking him for all the help he has given us. If he wants to choose something else, we wish him all the best, because he deserves it.

“And woe betide anyone who says otherwise to him.”

The defender’s contract will run until 2023 and he did not accept the renewal offer that had a large pay cut. He then got another deal that was worth €6m per season including bonuses.

However, he felt that the club president wanted to cash in on him and he decided to take up a new challenge at Chelsea, who offered him a three-year deal worth €8m plus €1m in add-ons per season.

Lorenzo Insigne and David Ospina departed the club after they hit free agency, with Dries Mertens also planning to go out the exit door, but they are keen on offering him a new deal.

“We lost Insigne and Ospina for now, for the others there’s still a chance, we don’t know,”

added Spalletti.

“We have strong young players, if we help them to take control of their potential, they can become leaders.”

Follow

for the