English Premier League side Chelsea FC remains confident that the club could still pull off the signing of Kalidou Koulibaly even after SSC Napoli rejected their £42 million bid for the Senegalese defender.
The London Evening Standard reported that the Stamford Bridge giants "have not given up on signing Kalidou Koulibaly despite Napoli turning down an offer worth up to £42 million".
The report also noted that the 6-foot-5 French-born Senegal international is keen on moving to England this summer and had turned down a contract extension offer from the Italian Serie A powerhouse.
However, Partenopei is keen on keeping Koulibaly at the Stadio San Paolo, saying that the defender is "not for sale at any price".
Chelsea is said to be prepared to make the 25-year-old center back at least the third most expensive defender in the world after Manchester City pulled off a £47.5 million deal for Everton's John Stones on Tuesday, as per Caught Offside.
Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian defender David Luiz is still the most expensive backfield player on record after Les Parisiens bought him from Chelsea in the summer of 2014 for £50 million.
The Blues are given a huge boost, though, as Napoli is rumored to be eyeing Torino defender Nikola Maksimovic as a potential replacement for Koulibaly. A £21 million initial bid was reportedly rejected by Il Toro, but the Naples-based squad is expected to return with an improved one soon.
New head coach Antonio Conte's current roster is said to be lacking in defenders and would be "vulnerable should one get an injury", which is why the Pensioners are still searching for one a few days before the new season begins.
Conte only has three players at center back at the moment, with team captain John Terry, who had previously expressed his desire for lesser playing time in his 19th professional season, Gary Cahill, and Branislav Ivanovic as his only options at the position.
Frenchman Kurt Zouma is still not ready to return from a serious knee injury yet so newcomer Michael Hector could see some time in the first team at the beginning of this coming term.
Koulibaly had just finished his second season with Napoli, where he had appeared in a total of 81 games in all competitions since he was acquired in the summer of 2014 from Genk for a fee of £6.5 million.