Chelsea Transfer News: Latest on Nikola Maksimovic and Kalidou Koulibaly Rumours

Chelsea are reportedly ready to abandon their pursuit of Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly and chase Torino defender Nikola Maksimovic instead.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Sport Witness), the latter is AWOL from his team’s squad in an attempt to force through a transfer to Napoli. That supposed unrest may work in Chelsea’s favour, though, as they could make a move for Maksimovic instead of Koulibaly.

It’s suggested that if Maksimovic was to move to Napoli, that would pave the way for the Blues to sign Koulibaly. However, Chelsea are said to now be “in the front row” for the Torino man, though the situation is reportedly be “very tense.”

Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte needs to add defensive reinforcements to his squad and seems keen to recruit from a division he knows well. Maksimovic may be the less illustrious of the two options mentioned, but as we can see here, the Serbian has a lot to his game:

At the moment, his future is up in the air. Indeed, Torino boss Sinisa Mihajlovic is far from happy with the player’s decision not to join up with the squad.

“I don't know whether Maksimovic is making a mistake of his own accord or whether he's being ill-advised, and frankly I don't give a damn,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Football Italia). “He'll pay the consequences of this behaviour. We suffered damages that will be evaluated by the club.”

Despite this intriguing decision, ESPN FC’s David Amoyal rated the player highly:

At the moment, he may be a more viable option than Koulibaly, too. The Napoli centre-back emerged as one of the division’s best defenders last term, and according to Simon Johnson of the London Evening Standard, the Blues have already had a bid rejected of £42 million.

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It’s understandable why Napoli value Koulibaly so highly. The defender is a forceful presence at the base of the team, winning headers and making committed challenges. After they already lost Gonzalo Higuain this summer, it would be extremely difficult for them in the upcoming term if another key part of the spine was moved on, too.

These numbers from WhoScored.com point to a composure in possession that the Senegal international has as well:

However, should Maksimovic become available and represent a much cheaper acquisition, it’d be easy to see Chelsea shifting targets. The 24-year-old may not be as established as Koulibaly, but the attributes are there for Conte to work with. The Serb is an elegant distributor from the back and possesses excellent in-game intelligence.

Some would prefer the Blues spend big to secure the more thoroughbred defender. Football journalist Rafael Hernandez believes Koulibaly would go some way to making Chelsea genuine contenders for the title:

Napoli will be under no pressure to sell the player, though, at least until a deal is done for a replacement.

The Partenopei will find it tough to replace Higuain’s influence up top, and while losing their defensive talisman would be potentially just as detrimental, with their bank balance bolstered from the sale of the Argentinan, they can play hardball with the Blues.

Maksimovic, as such, could be a solid contingency plan. There may be questions over his attitude following this latest outburst, although Conte would be confident of developing him into a fine player. At the moment, he wouldn’t be a major upgrade at the back for Chelsea, though.