According to Athletic’s David Ornstein Chelsea are making moves to sign Kalidou Koulibaly and are looking to seal a £35 Million for the centre-back.
Having lost their former centre-back, Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid, Tuchel has long been scouring for alternatives to fill in his big shoes. The Blues were initially pitching their tent with Juventus’ De Ligt, however, from recent reports, the highly-priced defender would rather opt for Bayern Munich.
The Blues were also initially linked to the Sevilla defender Jules Kounde who they once had ties in the last season prior to their takeover struggles. The player on the other hand like Raphinha appears to be nursing interest to play for Barcelona instead, despite financial struggles.
This leaves Chelsea in a position to re-strategize in their search for a centre-back, which sees them aiming to solidify plans to sign Koulibaly before the transfer draws the curtain.
The Napoli defender is said to be inching towards his contract expiration in a year and with the team not pushing for an extension, they are gunning to cash in on him.
Further reports from an Italian journalist, Gianluca Di Marzio opines that talks are in play between Chelsea and Koulibaly’s agent, Fali Ramadani, which lays claim on the move happening.
Juventus’ Interest in Koulibaly
This summer saw the exit of the Juventus legend, Giogio Chiellini, making it important for an alternative to being sourced for before the start of the season. Chiellini who has played gracefully for the Turin side for 16 years bowed out in pride and the team seems to be taking an interest in the Senegalese.
According to reports from the iconic Italian Journalist, Fabrizio Romano a few days ago, it was opined that Juventus director Federico Cherubini would be meeting Koulibaly’s agent. So far, no serious bids from Juventus have been reported following the news of the meeting.
This leaves Chelsea as favourites to sign the 31-year-old centre-back this summer.
Koulibaly for Chelsea
Chelsea fans globally seem to be excited about the prospects of signing the Senegalese defender this Summer given his exploits so far. The defender who has been holding it down in Napoli for eight years now is expected to add some stability to Chelsea’s defence line given his agility and experience.
Koulibaly also shares a lot of similarities to Rudiger and as such looks to be the aptest replacement for him.
