Napoli Coach Not Letting Guard Down, Koulibaly Transfer Could Still Happen

SSC Napoli may have dodged a bullet with Manchester City signing Ruben Dias. Interest in Kalidou Koulibaly may mellow out a bit, but Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso is not letting his guard down. For him, they can only heave a sigh of relief once the transfer deadline lapses.

City recently secured the services of Dias after agreeing to an $83 million deal with Benfica, Sky Sports reported. Before that deal went down, the original target of the Sky Blues was Koulibaly. But negotiations bogged down and City was racing against time, with the transfer window soon closing on Oct. 5.

However, anything can still happen in the following days. Though there are financial factors to consider, Gli Azzurri cannot afford to let its guard down. While Napoli director Cristiano Giuntoli appears to be confident that the Senegal national is not going anywhere, manager Gennaro Gattuso remains cautious.

"I hope he remains with us, selfishly speaking, because he gives us so much both in technical terms and as a character," Gattuso told Sky Sport Italia. "The world has changed because of the pandemic and I realize all clubs need to balance the books. I hope the call won't arrive, but I'll be nervous about it until transfer deadline day."

Koulibaly played a key role for Napoli when the team won over Genoa. The club is off to a flying start, although Gattuso humbly says that the big win on Sunday does not reflect the actual game, Goal reported.

"This result is very harsh and does not reflect the game," Gattuso said. "If Piotr Zielinski hadn’t scored 30 seconds after the restart, it would’ve been a very different match. We have to focus on improving and finding the right balance, because we need balance in order to play this type of football."

Meanwhile, Giuntoli told Sky Sport Italia that Koulibaly won't be among the players they plan to release.

"The team was completed in January with Stanislav Lobotka and Diego Demme, who can play in a few different roles," the Napoli director said. "With Amir Rrahmani, [Victor] Osimhen and [Andrea] Petagna, we are complete, so will now try to release players who won't have much time on the pitch."

"I think Koulibaly is staying, we are very happy and so is he. I believe that he is staying," he added.

The coming days will be interesting, especially as far as Koulibaly is concerned. There are still several clubs linked to the 29-year-old defender. The list includes Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and Liverpool.