Revealed: Chelsea made approach for Napoli 26-year-old defender
A star under Maurizio Sarri at Serie A giants Napoli, the Albania international Elseid Hysaj found life much tougher under now-Everton chief Carlo Ancelotti, ending up on the bench more often than not.
Then came another Italian tactician Gennaro Gattuso, who trusted the full-back far more than his predecessor, even going as far as playing the player at left-back in times of need.
That’s been the case for most of this campaign, and it seems his manager is glad to have the star, which might not have been the case if Maurizio Sarri, once he left for Premier League giants Chelsea, had had his way.
This is according to the player’s entourage, who spoke to Radio Kiss Kiss, relayed by Area Napoli, reminding everyone Chelsea were prepared to spend heavily on his client.
Mario Giufrredi said: “I have a good relationship with Aurelio De Laurentiis. There’s never been any problems. Napoli have, in the past, rejected €50m from Chelsea.”
The outlet point out he was referring to the season of Maurizio Sarri in England, as when he arrived at Chelsea, he openly wanted the former Empoli full-back, but received a ‘dry no’ from the Napoli chairman at the time.