Transfer News: Chelsea are set to battle it out for Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly.
According to Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport via HITC (h/t Football.London), Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly is ‘tempted’ by the latest offer from Chelsea.
The former Genk defender joined Napoli in 2014 and has spent eight seasons with the Serie A club, establishing himself as one of the top defenders in the world. Despite being linked with a move away from the Italian club, a deal for the Senegalese international has yet to materialise.
The 30-year-old had another fantastic season in Naples, helping his team to third place in the Italian league’s premier tier. This season, Koulibaly has appeared in 34 games for the Serie A team, scoring three goals and assisting on three occasions.
Chelsea are willing to offer the Napoli centre-back Koulibaly €10million per year in wages, which translates to £165,000 per week. This amount is believed to have enticed the 30-year-old, who would know that he doesn’t have a lot of his prime years left anymore.
Following the departures of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger this summer, Thomas Tuchel could be forced to overhaul his defence. Nonetheless, he is said to be supported in the market by a £200million investment, which would go a long way towards resolving the problem.
The 30-year-old’s contract expires at the conclusion of the next season, therefore the Italian club could be persuaded to part ways with him in a cheap deal this summer. After all, if his contract does not get renewed before it ends, they will lose him for free.
Given that Rudiger and Koulibaly are both in their peak years at the moment, the Senegal international would be an ideal replacement. Furthermore, both of them are highly muscular in stature, and their aggressive style of play in defence is fairly comparable.
Under Tuchel, our defence has always been our strongest suit, and losing crucial players like Christensen would be devastating. As a result, we need to replace the void left by their departures as quickly as possible, with Koulibaly being one of the only players capable of doing so because of his tremendous defensive abilities.
The Blues could sign a player with a lot of experience in Koulibaly. The Senegalese is now a leader in Naples after eight years at the same club. With Thiago Silva in the twilight of his career, Chelsea need to make decisions fast.
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