Napoli president reveals why he rejected huge £47m Chelsea bid for defender Kalidou Koulibaly

  • Napoli's club president has opened up on Chelsea's bid for Kalidoi Koulibaly 
  • Aurelio De Laurentiis admits the Blues came in with a huge £47m offer 
  • But the Italian club had to reject the money because of a lack of reinforcements
  • Koulibaly has a contract till 2021 but his agent says a move could still be on 

Chelsea failed in their attempts to sign Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly for one specific reason.

Aurelio De Laurentiis, Napoli president, admits the Blues tabled a huge offer for the versatile 25-year-old defender.

A sum of €55 million (£47m) was rejected by the Serie A side for Koulibaly, with De Laurentiis admitting the club simply could not go through with the deal due to a lack of reinforcements.

Napoli's president has revealed why he turned down Chelsea's £47m bid for Kalidou Koulibaly

Napoli's president has revealed why he turned down Chelsea's £47m bid for Kalidou Koulibaly

'Chelsea had offered €55m, but I told Conte that I could not give him up without first having a worthy substitute,' De Laurentiis said in an interview with beIN Sports.


'[I will not sell him] unless Sarri (Napoli manager) tells me: "I have Tom, Dick and Harry who are reliable: you give up who you want",' he added.

Knocked back by Napoli, Chelsea instead plumped for David Luiz in a last-gasp summer transfer window deal. 

The Brazilian has enjoyed great success during his return to Stamford Bridge this season, though the agent of Koulibaly still maintains his man could potentially seal a move to West London.

The tough-tackling defender has made himself a top target of Europe's elite teams 

The tough-tackling defender has made himself a top target of Europe's elite teams 

Blues boss Antonio Conte brought back Brazilian David Luiz after his Koulibaly bid failed

Blues boss Antonio Conte brought back Brazilian David Luiz after his Koulibaly bid failed

Speaking to a local Naples radio station, Kiss Kiss Napoli, the defender's agent Bruno Satin said: 'Chelsea were interested but then they signed David Luiz and you also have John Terry and Gary Cahill at the club so there is a lot of competition there.

'We will see what happens. A lot of the improvements that Koulibaly has made in his game have been down to the coaching of Maurizio Sarri.

'Whatever happens in the future will depend on the president and whether or not he decides to evaluate any offers that may come in,' he added.

Koulibaly's current deal with Napoli is set to run until 2021