Chelsea face uphill battle in their efforts to sell 31-year-old transfer flop

Chelsea want to sell Kalidou Koulibaly but the player is reluctant to leave

As per Evening Standard, Chelsea will try to sell defender Kalidou Koulibaly in the coming summer transfer window but won’t find that task easy to do.

It is revealed that the former Napoli defender, who joined Chelsea last summer and is on wages of around £200,000-per-week, is reluctant to leave the club after just one season here.

Koulibaly hasn’t had it easy so far in English football. The 31-year-old made 32 appearances in all competitions but lacked consistency and command in performances.

At the age he is in, the expectation from him must be to come into the team and hit the ground running. That hasn’t happened, although we can give him the benefit of the doubt because of how bad the levels of the team have been this season.

New manager Mauricio Pochettino may have a decision or two to make with regard to which centre-backs to keep ahead of the start of next season.

The report says Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile are unlikely to be sold, while Levi Colwill will come back from his loan spell at Brighton and Hove Albion. The latter is in Pochettino’s plans going forward.

Veteran Thiago Silva signed a new one-year deal back in February. Will the new boss want an experienced defender like him for one season before relying on the young ones? The sensible thing would be to do that.

Coming back to Koulibaly, it is tough to decipher what happens with him in the coming days. Chelsea have a lot of options in his position.

More Chelsea News:

• Chelsea will need to fork out £40m to secure Brentford star David Raya
• Juventus are leading the race to sign Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic
• Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino is uninterested in pursuing a deal for Joao Felix

The last word on this may lie on the manager irrespective of the player’s wish. If the former wants the latter gone especially with no European football next season, it should be accepted by the club and the player.