Kalidou Koulibaly admits his Chelsea transfer is ‘on the right track’ amid reports he will pull out of Napoli’s pre-season training, where he was set to arrive this evening.
The Senegal international is by all accounts on the verge of completing a €40m move to Stamford Bridge this summer, with multiple sources including La Gazzetta dello Sport and The Athletic maintaining Chelsea have agreed both the fee and personal terms.
Now he has broken his silence with a comment to French reporter Romain Collet-Gaudin.
“I can confirm later, but it is on the right track,” was his response to a direct question about the Chelsea talks.
Koulibaly was set to arrive at Napoli’s pre-season training camp in Dimaro this evening, but there are already suggestions things are moving so rapidly that he might not turn up at all.
It would make the situation a lot more difficult if he were to arrive, be greeted by the fans and then pack up to leave immediately afterwards.
Napoli fans are already furious with President Aurelio De Laurentiis for letting Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens leave as free agents, now Koulibaly could depart after rejecting a pay cut to extend the contract that runs to June 2023.
According to reports, Chelsea are offering him €8m per season net plus €1m in bonuses – €3m more than the wages Napoli are proposing for the 31-year-old.
It’ll be either a four-year contract, or three years with an option for a fourth, claim Sportitalia.
Juventus were also interested, but Napoli would rather not sell to their arch-rivals.