Chelsea FC prepared to meet £34m asking price to sign Kalidou Koulibaly - report
Chelsea FC are willing to pay the £34m required to sign Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli, according to reports
Chelsea FC are willing to meet Napoli’s £34m asking price for defender Kalidou Koulibaly, according to reports in Italy.
Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport, as quoted by The Sun, is claiming that the Blues are preparing to ramp up their interest in the defender as Thomas Tuchel looks to add to his backline ahead of the new campaign.
Chelsea FC need to bring in some defensive reinforcements this summer after having seen Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen both leave the club as free agents.
Koulibaly has long been linked with a move to the Premier League but a transfer to England has not yet materialised for the 31-year-old despite plenty of speculation in recent years.
The Senegal international is out of contract next year, meaning that Napoli could look to offload the defender for a fee this summer rather than risk losing him on a free transfer in 12 months’ time.
According to the article, FC Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich are also keen on Koulibaly, but the defender would not consider playing for another Italian club out of loyalty to Napoli.
The story claims that Chelsea FC are believed to be willing to “stump up” the £34m that Napoli are demanding for the defender as Tuchel looks to get some defensive reinforcements through the door at Stamford Bridge.
Koulibaly has been a constant presence in the Napoli team in recent seasons, and he scored three goals and made three assists in 27 Serie A games for the Italian club last term.
A seasoned international footballer, Koulibaly has played 62 times for Senegal since having made his debut for his country back in 2015.
He has won both the Coppa Italian and Italian Super Cup during his time at Napoli.
