Chelsea are close to agreeing on a deal with Napoli to sign Senegalese centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly as they look to rebuild their defence for next season. The deal is expected to close on Wednesday for between £32m and £33.7m. The central defender, who has 62 caps for Senegal, could also be offered a five-year contract to move to Stamford Bridge, worth around £8.2m a year net plus bonuses.
Dharmesh Sheth and Michael Bridges discuss potential Chelsea target Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli Koulibaly, who was also interesting in Juventus, has just one year left on his Napoli contract. Napoli held their first open training session of the summer in front of fans on Tuesday evening. However, Koulibaly was not present. The Blues lost Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen to Barcelona this summer - both on free transfers - leaving Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chaloba and Malang Sar as the only senior centre-backs in Thomas Tuchel's squad.
Koulibaly, 31, has made over 300 appearances for the Serie A club since joining Belgium side Genk eight years ago, being named in the Serie A Team of the Year on four occasions as well as in Italy in 2019. Nominated for Best Defender.
Along with Koulibaly, Chelsea are also interested in Manchester City's Nathan Acke, Sevilla's Jules Kaunde, RB Leipzig's Josco Guardiol and Paris Saint-Germain's Presnel Kimpembe. The Blues are also keen on Juventus' Matthijs de Ligt, but he is reportedly in favour of a move to Bayern Munich.
Meanwhile, Raheem Sterling is set to become Chelsea's first signing since the Todd Boehly-led consortium completed the club's takeover. The City forward underwent a medical on Sunday ahead of his £47.5m move at Stamford Bridge. The arrival of Todd Boilly's union as the club's new owners - with it the promise of large investments on and off the field - has ensured that Chelsea supporters enter this summer riding a wave of optimism.
Even the departure of a club record signing, Romelu Lukaku, on loan to former side Inter Milan - a move that served as an acknowledgement by both the striker and Chelsea that the transfer was a failure, dampened enthusiasm. Could not do it.
Allowing Lukaku to return to Italy was a move that made sense, and while the impending arrival of Raheem Sterling has not received universal acceptance from the fanbase, signing any of his lineages from a direct rival was a clear sign of Bonelli's ambition. Is.
As well to signing Sterling, the attempted move for Leeds Rafinha, who is reportedly now likely to join Barcelona, also serves as a message to Chelsea's current forward crop that his performance today. Hasn't even been scratched. Unsurprisingly, many of them are rumoured to be available for other clubs in what promises to be a busy summer in West London. Hakim Ziyech is a target for AC Milan, Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic have been linked with the move away, and Armando Broza, whose position at Chelsea is uncertain after spending last season on loan at Southampton, has been linked to several Premier League sides.
Thomas Tuchel's clear targeting of the wingers in this transfer window also increases the chances of the head coach moving away from his favourite 3-4-3 formation.