Chelsea have reportedly offered Kenneth Omeruo to SSC Napoli as a part of the deal to bring Kalidou Koulibaly to Stamford Bridge in the summer.
According to a report from owngoalnigeria.com, Antonio Conte’s side have offered Nigerian international center back Kenneth Omeruo to Napoli in a player plus cash offer, in a bid to prise long term target Kalidou Koulibaly away from Naples.
Koulibaly was heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge last summer. However, the Partenopei managed to hold on to him and even got him to sign a 2-year-contract extension, which will see the Senegalese International prolong his stay at the Stadio San Paolo till 2021.
Chelsea would eventually go on to acquire Marcos Alonso from Fiorentina and pay a huge amount to bring David Luiz back to London from Paris-Saint Germain. However, all’s well that ends well at Stamford Bridge and the Blues are no 3 wins away from reclaiming the Premier League title.
This news comes nearly 2 months after Koulibaly’s manager refused to rule out a move away from Naples in the summer for his client, saying that it would be ‘difficult’ to guarantee that he would be plying his trade in Napoli’s colours next season.
His manager, Bruna Satin reportedly said “At the moment, we don’t want to talk about his future but with a president like this who has a lot to say, it is difficult for us to affirm 100 per cent that he will be staying at Napoli next season.”
Koulibaly’s departure would be huge loss for Napoli, as the 25-year-old has grown leaps and bounds over the course of the past 2 seasons and under the tutelage of Maurizio Sarri, he has managed to to become one of the best center-backs in all of Europe.
Chelsea on the other hand, would likely suffer little in comparison. Barring the huge fee that is almost certain to exchange hands, at this point it would be safe to say that Kenneth Omeruo will not be missed too much at Stamford Bridge, should he be made a part of the deal.
The 23-year-old is currently plying his trade at Turkish Super Lig side Aytemiz Alanyaspor after being sent there on loan at the start of the season. This is Omeruo’s 5th consecutive season on loan, since being purchased by Chelsea from Standard Liege in January 2012.
Over the course of the past 5 seasons, he has spent time in the Eredivisie with ADO Den Haag, the English Championship with Middlesbrough and Turkish Super Lig with Kasımpaşa and now Alanyaspor and during this time, he has amassed over 120 club appearances.
Chelsea, who are edging closer to their 6 Premier League title, will certainly be looking to add more options to their defence, given that club legend John Terry is set to depart in a few months and they get set to return to the Champions League at the end of the current campaign.
With the likes of Gary Cahill, Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Nathan Ake and Kurt Zouma already vying for starting positions and Andreas Christensen almost certain to return to the senior squad from Gladbach at the end of the season, another loan move away from Stamford Bridge seems to be the best option for the Nigerian International at this stage of his Chelsea career.