Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is confident coach Luciano Spalletti will remain with the Scudetto hopefuls beyond the expiration of his contract at the end of the season.

Napoli appear destined to win their first Serie A title since the Diego Maradona era this campaign, having built a huge 19-point lead over second-placed Lazio.

Having earned a club-record 71 points from their first 27 games of the Serie A season, Napoli will also face Milan in the club's first Champions League quarter-final appearance next month.

Napoli reportedly hold an option to trigger a 12-month extension to Spalletti's contract, with the 64-year-old having previously ruled out talks over fresh terms before the title is secured.

De Laurentiis is not worried about the prospect of Spalletti walking away, praising the coach's seismic impact upon the club as he recalled his 2021 appointment on Friday. 

Speaking at an event in Naples, De Laurentiis recalled: "To throw everyone off the track, I went for [Sergio] Conceicao and [Massimiliano] Allegri, who came to give me football lessons in my office four times.

"In the end, Luciano came to bring us back to the top three in Italy and also last year, something different could have happened. 

"If the rules of football were different, perhaps we would have brought the Scudetto to Naples a few other times already. Spalletti will stay in Naples."

Napoli host Milan in their next Serie A fixture on April 2, while the first leg of their Champions League last-eight tie with the Rossoneri will take place 10 days later at San Siro.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis insists the Scudetto frontrunners do not have to sell rumoured Manchester United and Chelsea target Victor Osimhen.

Nigeria international Osimhen is reportedly a target for the Premier League pair, as well as other big names across Europe, after starring for Serie A leaders Napoli this season.

The 24-year-old has 17 goals this campaign – the joint-sixth most of any player across Europe's top five leagues – and has assisted a further three goals in his 21 appearances.

While interest in Osimhen will only intensify between now and the transfer window reopening in advance of next season, De Laurentiis has made it clear Napoli are not looking to cash in.

"Victor is not for sale," he told German outlet Bild. "Our players are in high demand, but we are not forced to sell anybody. We don't have any debts."

Osimhen scored another brace in Sunday's 3-0 win over Spezia as Napoli opened up a 13-point lead over closest challengers Inter at the top of Serie A.

He now has 53 goals in 95 league games across his past four seasons for Lille and Napoli – only Erling Haaland (87 in 87) has needed fewer games to reach the 50-goal mark.

Napoli will hope their in-form striker can make the difference when they face Eintracht Frankfurt in the last 16 of the Champions League, with the first leg taking place in two weeks' time.

Eintracht are competing in the knockout stage of the competition for the first time, but De Laurentiis says Napoli will not be taking the Bundesliga title challengers lightly.

"In the beginning, the feeling was of a non-difficult draw, but it's not exactly like this," he said of Eintracht, who beat Barcelona in the Europa League quarter-finals last season.

"It's not a coincidence they are in the race for the Bundesliga. We should not think we are a better team. Barca did it last season and we should not make the same mistake."

Napoli have won their past two away games against German sides in European competition, beating Wolfsburg 4-1 in April 2015 and RB Leipzig 2-0 in February 2018.

Dries Mertens has posted a farewell message to Napoli fans, saying his exit was not how he would have planned it.

The Belgium forward's nine-year stay at the Serie A club came to an end following the 2021-22 season after he rejected the offer of a new contract.

Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis previously said Mertens turned down the offer of a new deal because he wanted more money, telling Radio Kiss Kiss: "I presented him with €4million per season gross and he refused.

"So I said thank you very much... I need to have money to buy young players who can represent Napoli in future seasons."

In a message posted to his social media on Wednesday, Mertens said: "Dear Neapolitans, I knew this day would eventually come, but I didn't know how difficult it would be to say goodbye."

He also went on to praise the city of Naples for "adopting" him, pointing out that his son Ciro, who features in the video with him, was born in the city.

The former PSV man added: "I did not leave as I would have liked" before finishing with: "this is not farewell, only goodbye." 

The Partenopei have seen Lorenzo Insigne, David Ospina, Kalidou Koulibaly and Arkadiusz Milik also depart during this transfer window, with Mertens leaving as the club's record goalscorer with 148 goals.

He scored 11 times in 30 Serie A games last season, with his 126 minutes per goal the fourth-best return of any player in the Italian top flight to have netted at least 10 times.

Mertens, who has been linked with Inter, Juventus and Marseille, made 397 appearances for Napoli in all, placing him behind Insigne (434), Antonio Juliano (505), Giuseppe Bruscolotti (511) and Marek Hamsik (520).

Kalidou Koulibaly has condemned plans by Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis to tell new signings they must agree not to play in the Africa Cup of Nations.

De Laurentiis proposed the controversial policy on Tuesday, saying that any African player who joined the Serie A club should make a commitment to skip the tournament.

It remains to be seen whether he goes through with the plan, or whether it is enforceable. The next AFCON is due to be played in the Ivory Coast in January 2024.

Last season, Napoli were without Cameroon international Andre-Franck Zambo Anguissa and Senegal defender Koulibaly as they represented their nations in the tournament that took place in January and February, while Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen missed out because of an injury.

Koulibaly, who has since moved on to Chelsea, felt De Laurentiis was out of line with his remarks, and claimed the views would not be endorsed by many others at the club.

"It's up to him if he wanted to tell this, but for me the most important [thing] is to respect everybody," Koulibaly told a news conference in London.

"When I played there, I was playing also for Senegal, and I won the AFCON with Senegal when I was playing with Napoli.

"It's true that it was a difficult moment for them when we went to AFCON, but we won it and I'm really happy today."

While Napoli may have struggled for numbers without their African players, their results were strong nonetheless, with Luciano Spalletti's team taking 13 points from a possible 15 from their first five league games of the year. The only real disappointment was a Coppa Italia exit at the hands of Fiorentina in mid-January.

Koulibaly added: "You cannot speak for African national teams like this, I think. You have to have respect, like you have for other national teams.

"As captain of Senegal, I think that this is not a good way to speak about African national teams.

"But I respect what he thinks. If he thinks the team can play without African players, it's up to him. But I think not everybody has the same idea as him at the club.

"I know that some people who are part of this society and team do not have the same idea as him. It's not the idea of the society or the city, because the city is very respectful."

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has controversially suggested the club will not sign African players unless they make agreements not to play in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Last season, Napoli were without Cameroon international Andre-Franck Zambo Anguissa and Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly during their participation in Africa’s showpiece tournament, the latter of whom went on to win the tournament and has since departed Naples for Chelsea.

Striker Victor Osimhen could have been another player to travel to the tournament in Cameroon to play for Nigeria, but an injury ruled him out.

The next AFCON is due to be played in the Ivory Coast in 2024, and De Laurentiis says the club would want some sort of commitment from any player joining Napoli that they would be willing to skip the tournament.

"I told them: lads, don't talk to me about Africans anymore," De Laurentiis told a streamed event in quotes reported by Football Italia.

"I love them, but either they sign something confirming they'll back out of playing the Africa Cup of Nations, or otherwise between that tournament, the World Cup qualifiers in South America, these players are never available!

"We are the idiots who pay salaries only to send them all over the world playing for others."

De Laurentiis also revealed how he rebuked the advances of American investors in an offer worth $900million back in the 2017-18 season.

"In recent years these investment funds have become fashionable, they have to guarantee their investors a certain revenue within five years," the 73-year-old added.

"They saw that football is a great opportunity and they can double their investment by selling clubs to investment funds in future. That's what Milan and Inter have done, right?

"I am assailed by funds, I can't take it anymore. In 2017-18, an American fund offered me $900m to sell Napoli. But they don't realise I am this pure entrepreneur who enjoys playing the game, so let me keep playing."

Napoli have announced the signing of central defender Kim Min-jae from Fenerbahce, shelling out a reported €19.5million for the South Korea international in a bid to replace Kalidou Koulibaly.

Luciano Spalletti's team finished third in Serie A after threatening a first Scudetto win since the Diego Maradona era last term, conceding the joint-fewest goals in the division (31, alongside Milan).

But the Partenopei have been in the market for reinforcements since they lost defensive colossus Koulibaly to Chelsea in a €40m deal earlier this month.

Kim, who has 42 caps for his country and will hope to feature when they open their World Cup campaign against Uruguay on November 24, is the man Napoli have signed to fill that void after he enjoyed an impressive one-season spell in Turkey.

Having contributed to Fenerbahce conceding just 38 league goals last term, the towering 25-year-old has penned a three-year deal with the option of two further seasons in Italy.

Reports also suggest Kim will have a release clause of €45million.

Napoli begin their 2022-23 Serie A campaign at Verona on August 15 but have endured a troubled off-season, losing both Koulibaly and Lorenzo Insigne during the transfer window, while president Aurelio De Laurentiis confirmed on Saturday that club legend Dries Mertens is also departing.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has confirmed Dries Mertens' nine-year stay with the club is officially over after the forward rejected the offer of a new contract.

The Belgium international's previous deal expired at the end of last month, but the Serie A side had been hoping to persuade him to agree fresh terms.

However, De Laurentiis says Mertens was not willing to accept the offer tabled by the club and he is now on the lookout for a new team.

"I feel the love for the club, but I must never forget that football is also an industry as well as pure passion," he told Radio Kiss Kiss.

"Unfortunately, that means sometimes going against what the fans want. 

"When a supporter asks me, 'why don't you keep Mertens?' I can only reply that he offered himself to us for another year, because he knows that he's 35 and then has to retire.

"If he makes it a matter of cold, hard cash, then I have to say no. If I have to pay a disproportionate salary to Mertens, that would take money away from next season's budget."

Napoli have already waved goodbye to Lorenzo Insigne, David Ospina, Kalidou Koulibaly and Arkadiusz Milik during this transfer window.

Mertens departs Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, where he arrived in 2013 from PSV, as the club's all-time record scorer with 148 goals.

The 35-year-old scored 11 goals in 30 Serie A outings last season, with his 126 minutes per goal the fourth-best return of any player in Serie A to have netted at least 10 times.

He made 397 appearances for Napoli, placing him behind Insigne (434), Antonio Juliano (505), Giuseppe Bruscolotti (511) and Marek Hamsik (520).

Providing further details on the contract offered to the club legend, De Laurentiis said: "I presented him with €4million per season gross and he refused. 

"So I said thank you very much to you, your son Ciro, your wife, for everything you've done here and the extraordinary goals scored, but we cannot go beyond our capabilities.

"I need to have money to buy young players who can represent Napoli in future seasons. 

"When we changed all the older players to bring in those like Mertens and Koulibaly, the fans were doubtful, but they became champions here."

Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly will not be forced to stay at the club amid reports linking him with Barcelona, according to club president Aurelio De Laurentiis.

Koulibaly's contract with Luciano Spalletti's men is due to expire in June 2023, and the Blaugrana have been touted as a potential destination if he decides to end his eight-year spell with the Partenopei.

The 30-year-old has been a key figure as Napoli secured a third-place finish in Serie A this season, and they go into their final game of the campaign, against Spezia on Sunday, having conceded the joint-fewest goals in the league (31 – along with Milan) and kept the second-most clean sheets (15, Milan have kept 17).

Koulibaly fuelled speculation over his future earlier this week when he told Onze Mondial: "We'll see what happens at the end of the season."

The Senegal international did say he would not force a move to another club, though he did suggest Napoli had ended previous negotiations over a transfer by setting a high asking price, adding: "Sometimes it was too high for some clubs, and it blocked negotiations. 

"You should know that I am not a guy who likes to go to clash to get something. If I have to leave one day, I will leave cleanly rather than fight with the club." 

Speaking at a charity event in Naples, De Laurentiis said he remains keen to keep Koulibaly, but would not force the defender to stay.

"He is a symbol of Napoli, and if he wants to no longer be a symbol, he must decide," De Laurentiis said.

"We must decide. We want Koulibaly to stay, but people can't be forced to. Everyone has their own dignity and needs. 

"We respect everyone, do you understand that I [only once] forced someone to stay? The only one, who is a dear friend, is [former Napoli head coach] Walter Mazzarri, after two years he told me he wanted to leave, I told him he would stay. He did it and he gave us four years of satisfaction."

Koulibaly has featured in 26 league games for Napoli this season, with Spalletti's men conceding just 19 goals across those contests.