Contrasting emotions in Napoli as fans protest Koubibaly and welcome back Osimhen
Koulibaly follows Insigne and Dries Mertens out the door this summer, as part of a general cost-cutting exercise
As Senegal icon Kalidou Koulibaly flies out for his Chelsea medical, Napoli director Cristiano Giuntoli faces protests from the fans. ‘It’s not up to us.’
The defender has been with the Partenopei since 2014 and was set to inherit the captain’s armband following the departure of Lorenzo Insigne this summer.
However, he did not travel to the Dimaro pre-season camp as planned last night, instead, he is flying out for a Chelsea medical to complete the €40m transfer.
The situation is getting tense at Dimaro, where the director of sports Giuntoli was targeted by annoying fans.
They shouted out some of Giuntoli and President Aurelio De Laurentiis’ previous comments in which they had assured Koulibaly was not for sale.
In response, Giuntoli shrugged and replied: “It’s not up to us.”
Koulibaly follows Insigne and Dries Mertens out the door this summer, as part of a general cost-cutting exercise that will see Napoli try to introduce a salary cap of circa €3.5m per season.
The Senegal international had been on €6m per season net and was initially only offered an extension with a large pay cut.
Napoli did later increase their bid to cover his current salary with bonuses, but by that point the damage had been done.
Meanwhile, Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen has linked up with his Napoli teammates in Dimaro for pre-season camping.
The forward was granted an extended break following his engagement with Nigeria at the end of last season.
The Napoli squad started their preparations for the new season in Dimaro last weekend.
The 23-year-old has been a subject of interest from a number of top clubs in Europe this summer.
Reports emerged on Wednesday that Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich could reignite their interest in the former VFL Wolfsburg striker should their talismanic forward, Robert Lewandowski joins Barcelona.
Premier League clubs; Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle United have all been credited with an interest in Osimhen.
Napoli sporting director, Cristiano Guintoli, recently stated that it will take a massive offer for the club to consider selling their top scorer.
Osimhen scored 14 goals in 29 league appearances for the Partenopei last season.
He linked up with the Serie A club from Ligue 1 club, Lille in 2022.
