“We’ve offered him new deal for €6m net salary per season plus a future role as part of the board” – Chelsea handed blow as club director insists transfer target is not for sale

S.S.C Napoli director Cristian Giantuli has revealed that the club have offered Chelsea target Kalidou Koulibaly a new deal.

He has claimed that the club have offered him a €6m net annual salary along with a definite position amongst the club's board of directors.

Koulibaly has been linked with the Blues in recent weeks. La Repubblica (via CaughtOffside) recently reported that Chelsea were ready to offer the Senegalese up to €9.5 million a year in wages.

However, Giantuli's recent comments could apply the brakes on a potential move. He stated that Napoli want to keep Koulibaly, whose current deal in Naples expires next summer, and said (as quoted by football.london):

“Koulibaly is key player for us. There’s no bid from any club. We’ve offered him new deal for €6m net salary per season plus a future role as part of the board.”

Giantuli went on to add:

“It’s a huge proposal, €60m gross for Napoli - Koulibaly deserves it all… We didn’t need to tell Koulibaly that we’re not selling him to Juventus - because we consider Koulibaly untouchable and non-transferrable.”

Koulibaly joined Napoli in the summer of 2014 from KRC Genk and has spent eight fairly fruitful years with the Serie A giants. The 31-year-old has made 317 appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring 14 goals and laying out eight assists.

He has lifted the Italian Cup and Italian Super Cup during his time with Napoli.

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Chelsea are in dire need of defensive reinforcements

Chelsea's interest in Koulibaly is understandable as they are currently short of quality players in central defense. Thomas Tuchel's men lost Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen on free transfers this summer to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively.

This means the Blues only have Thiago Silva (37 years old), Malang Sarr and Trevoh Chalobah as pure central defenders left over from last season's squad. Consequently, they might need to sign at least two more centre-backs ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.

Apart from Koulibaly, the two-time UEFA Champions League winners have also been linked with Matthijs de Ligt and Nathan Ake. However, their pursuit of De Ligt is complicated as the Juventus defender prefers a move to Bayern Munich, according to Sport1 reporter Kerry Hau.

There is positive news, however, on the Ake front. Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reported on July 10 that the Dutchman, who has played for Chelsea previously, has agreed personal terms with the Blues.

Romano's report added that Chelsea will be in contact with Manchester City to negotiate Ake's transfer fee, with the Citizens demanding around £41 million.