Luciano Spalletti said Napoli "will never stop thanking" Kalidou Koulibaly should he depart for Chelsea, as reports suggested the Senegal captain was edging closer to a move.
Koulibaly has made 236 Serie A appearances since joining Napoli from Belgian outfit Genk in 2014, including 27 as the Partenopei finished third last season.
Napoli vice president Edoardo De Laurentiis admitted he was unsure why Koulibaly was yet to extend his contract with the club last week, and reports on Tuesday suggested he could be set for a move to the Premier League.
Chelsea are reportedly locked in negotiations to seal a €40million (£33.7m) move for the 31-year-old, who has just one year remaining on his deal in Naples, and Spalletti says he will harbour no ill-will towards the defensive colossus if he departs.
"I always remain of the same opinion. I always prefer Koulibaly to everyone," Spalletti said, during a question-and-answer session with fans.
"It is easy for me because he, as a Napoli player, is the one who has the highest average points. When he was on the pitch, we scored more points.
"Should he choose to go, we will never stop thanking him for everything he taught us and for everything he gave us to make us play in the Champions League this year.
"He is very good, very strong. This year he would also be captain [if he chose to stay].
"If he will choose different things, we will wish him the best because he deserves it all, and woe to anyone who will tell him something if he has to make different choices."
Koulibaly's departure would be a significant blow for Napoli, who have already lost Lorenzo Insigne on a free transfer during the off-season, with the Italy star heading to Major League Soccer side Toronto FC.
And Spalletti says Napoli are assessing all options as they look to improve their squad: "We are making evaluations. We have lost [Dries] Mertens [who is yet to agree a contract renewal], Insigne and [David] Ospina.
"For the others there are possibilities, so we don't know. These players are important references, but we have very strong young people who can become leaders of this team."
One player to have been strongly linked with Napoli is former Juventus forward Paulo Dybala, who remains a free agent after departing the Turin giants at the end of his contract last month.
"Who knows? The ways of the lord are infinite," De Laurentiis quipped when asked whether Napoli could target the Argentine on Sunday, and Spalletti says he admires the 28-year-old.
"Many like Dybala because he has the qualities to give solutions to a team," he added. "He is a player who has imagination, inspiration, a great foot, takes set pieces very well, scores goals.
"We would try to make him grow a little bit. He's perfect in the way of being a strong team player."
Montero to coach Juventus until end of the season
Paolo Montero will take charge of Serie A side Juventus for the remainder of the season following the dismissal of Massimiliano Allegri.
Juventus sacked their former head coach Allegri on Friday over his behaviour during and after this week's Coppa Italia final in which he was sent off, ending a long period of speculation over his future.
Montero, who coaches Juventus' Under-19s team, will take charge for their remaining two matches, at Bologna on Monday and against Monza at home on May 26.
The 52-year-old Uruguayan won four Serie A titles playing for Juventus as a defender from 1996 to 2005 and will take his first training session on Sunday.
"Paolo is a Juventus legend, firstly on the pitch, and someone who has long been a bearer of the club's DNA on the bench," Juve said in a statement.
"Best of luck, Paolo!"
Juve are assured of Champions League qualification but could still finish between third and fifth in Serie A this season.
Fiorentina 2-2 Napoli: Kvaratskhelia keeps visitors' slim European hopes alive
Dethroned Italian champions Napoli's hopes of playing European football next season are hanging by a thread after they played out a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina in Serie A on Friday.
Napoli took the lead in the eighth minute through defender Amir Rrahmani, who nodded home a corner by Matteo Politano.
Cristiano Biraghi levelled for Fiorentina in the 40th minute from a free-kick, before M'Bala Nzola put the hosts in front two minutes later when he fired a shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia responded with another stunning free-kick early in the second half to rescue a point for his team.
Eighth-placed Fiorentina, on 54 points and with a game in hand, are five points behind Lazio in seventh.
They can still earn a Europa League spot either by leapfrogging the Rome side or by winning the Europa Conference League final in which they face Greece's Olympiakos on May 29.
Ninth-placed Napoli, on 52 points, still have a slim chance of making the Europa Conference League playoffs.
Data Debrief
Fiorentina left-back Biraghi has now scored six goals from direct free-kicks since the start of 2021-22, which is behind only James Ward-Prowse (seven) - now of West Ham and formerly of Southampton - as the most across Europe's top five leagues in that period.
Kvaratskhelia also levelled via a direct free-kick, making this the first Serie A match in which both teams scored via that route since Fiorentina against Lazio in April 2018 (Jordan Veretout and Luis Alberto in that case).
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
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