Gazzetta dello Sport have decided to send some praise the way of Kalidou Koulibaly. Well, some more praise, because the central defender isn’t short of plaudits in the Italian media.
Signed from Genk in 2014 for €6m, Gazzetta say he’s now worth more than ten times that transfer fee, having progressed hugely at Napoli. It’s stated it wasn’t fully expected, even Genk weren’t aware what a valuable player they had on their hands, but since arriving in Naples, Kalidou Koulibaly has gone through the gears and up the levels.
To back up the claim Koulibaly is now worth more than ten multiples of what Napoli paid, Gazzetta reference a Chelsea offer from last year of €60m. Despite the size of such a bid, around £54m after conversion, Napoli simply had no intention of selling the defender to Chelsea.
Antonio Conte’s side didn’t give up and there have been countless claims in Italy about Chelsea interest not going away, although they haven’t yet improved on that offer.
Koulibaly was tempted by Chelsea but believes he can win the league with Napoli, and is happy with his life in Italy.
Next summer, there could be doubts once again as there has been previously, but at that time Koulibaly will be 27 years of age, and Chelsea could be even more reluctant to up that €60m offer.
