Napoli tie Koulibaly to five-year deal

Milan (AFP) – Highly rated Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly signed a five-year contract extension on Monday that ties him to the Serie A club until 2021, president Aurelio De Laurentiis said.

English giants Chelsea were among the clubs trying to lure the powerful and versatile centre-back away from the San Paolo this summer, with reports claiming Napoli had rejected a 50-million-euro Blues offer for the French-born Senegalese international.

Koulibaly is now set to remain with the league runners-up, who began their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win away to Dynamo Kiev, for the foreseeable future after he put pen to paper on a new, five-year deal.

“I’m happy to announce that Kalidou Koulibaly has renewed his contract with Napoli until 2021,” said a statement on Twitter by Napoli’s film producer owner and president De Laurentiis.

Napoli sit top of Serie A with 10 points, one ahead of champions Juventus, after four games.

Napoli travel to Genoa on Wednesday, when Juventus host Cagliari in Turin.