Chelsea transfer news: Kalidou Koulibaly set to sign new Napoli contract and reject £60m move
KALIDOU KOULIBALY is set snub a move to Chelsea by penning a new Napoli deal.
According to reports in France, the Senegalese international defender will ink a new contract this week to end boss Antonio Conte's pursuit of the 25-year-old.
It comes as the second Blues blow of the weekend after Everton boss Ronaldo Koeman claimed Romelu Lukaku wants to stay at Goodison Park.
Koulibaly still has three years left on his current deal with the Naples club, with the Serie A outfit flush with cash after the £75m sale of Gonzalo Higuain to rivals Juventus.
And they are keen to get the player to commit his long-term future to the club and end Blues' summer-long hunt.
Conte is in the market for a centre-back with Kurt Zouma out injured until the 2017 and club captain John Terry turning 36 in December.
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It appears Conte has now switched his attention to Giorgio Chiellini in a £25m move.
The Italian loves a clean sheet more than anyone and will have been alarmed to see his defence breached in both of their two opening Premier League games.
Watford were the latest side to do it, as a maiden Blues strike from Michy Batshuayi drew Blues level with ten minutes to go at Vicarage Road before Diego Costa sealed the win three minutes from time.
It recently emerged Manchester City missed out on the chance to sign Koulibaly for just £1million from French club Metz when Roberto Mancini was in charge, before the player headed to Genk and then Napoli.
And current 'Partenopei' boss slammed the player for his display in a friendly against Hertha Berlin last week.
He said: "Koulibaly had 20 minutes with his full repertoire of dumb mistakes, but over the rest of pre-season he did well.
“He is extraordinary, but still has moments where he goes missing. The defence is a tricky area for us, especially as in January we’ll lose both Faouzi Ghoulam and Koulibaly for the Africa Cup of Nations."