Koulibaly now likely to leave Napoli

Lyndon Lloyd | Monday, 25 July 2016

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Far from reconciled with the Italian club, Kalidou Koulibaly now looks destined to leave Napoli this summer amid reported interest from Everton and Chelsea.

There had been suggestions in the media in Italy over the weekend that the defender had opted to sign a new contract and stay in Serie A but now his agent says the opposite is true.

Reports have claimed that Everton were prepared to get into a bidding war with Chelsea for Koulibaly and had offered Napoli as much as £42m compared with the Londoners' bid of £34m.

Bruno Satin only mentioned one club when quoted by Footbal Italia, however, and it wasn't the Blues but elsewhere he does mention Everton.

“That I know of, he's not about to renew and the future doesn't look rosy. The player's desire is to leave and the signs we're receiving from Napoli don't exactly pressure him otherwise.

“We've decided to leave for economic reasons. After what happened to Higuain, though, Kalidou will not be leaving for Juventus or another competitor.

“Chelsea still want him and there's time to close the deal.”

His quotes on Goal.com include the Everton, though when he says:

"To the fans I say stay calm because he won't be joining Juventus. Chelsea and Everton are still interested as they are both searching for a central defender of his quality."

If Ronald Koeman's desire is to get an agreement over the line for Koulibaly, he would almost certainly need to get the mooted deal for John Stones's sale to Manchester City over the line first given the size of the fee involved.

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