S.S.C. Napoli exists to play football. Their transfer team – the president in particular – live to antagonize Chelsea in the transfer rumour mill.
Anyone watching Chelsea’s defence struggle against the previously goalless Crystal Palace surely asked at least once what Virgil van Dijk, Kalidou Koulibaly, Kostas Manolas and any number of other transfer targets are up to these days. Napoli and their irascible president Aurelio de Laurentiis were likely among the “anyone.” Never one to let an embarrassment go to waste, Napoli may let Chelsea think they can acquire Koulibaly next summer for a club record £55-60 million.
According to CalcioMercato, Napoli are not interested in selling Koulibaly. However, they will generously allow Chelsea to entertain thoughts of buying him for £55-60 pounds. This sum – which could pip what Chelsea paid for Alvaro Morata – is the price they will demand from any club who show interest in the Senegalese defender.
Napoli are shrewd negotiators, with an apparent vindictive / malicious / adolescent-cat-toying-with-a-mouse streak towards Stamford Bridge. If there is any validity to this rumour, Napoli perfectly timed its release for emotional impact. Chelsea are at their moment of peak humiliation and doubt** following their loss to Crystal Palace.
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However, they need to be careful with their approach to the new post-Kylian Mbappe transfer market and their read on Chelsea. AS Monaco’s chairman admitted to the Telegraph that “The price for Mbappe was fixed. It was fixed because everyone thought it was not possible.” He and the rest of Monaco’s management thought the price tag was so ludicrously prohibitive that it was essentially a “not for sale” sign. Obviously, he miscalculated.
Chelsea have been somewhat stingy in recent transfer windows, at least by the standards of Roman Abramovich’s first few years and the club’s competitors in the Premier League. Alvaro Morata broke a six year record for a Chelsea transfer fee, while other clubs broke their records nearly annually.
The Blues are not yet desperate enough to play another round of games with Napoli, or shell out a club record fee to purchase a defender. A few more performances by Gary Cahill, Cesar Azpilicueta and David Luiz like the one on Saturday could change the equation. Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger are the future, but they will need a partner.
Chelsea may be willing to break the records – and deal with Napoli – to strengthen their defence and (for once) give Antonio Conte what he needs. It would be gratifying to see Napoli catch their own tail and be left dumbfounded when one of their games backfires. If Chelsea are serious about Koulibaly, they have no excuse to get tangled in Napoli’s games. Make the move or don’t, but the Blues cannot afford to lose another summer of negotiation.
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**Hopefully this is the peak moment. Hopefully it will all get better from here, and we’ll look back to Selhurst Park and laugh. Dear god, let this be the peak.