Rumours: Chelsea win the race to sign Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly
Chelsea have moved into the pole position to sign Napoli’s highly rated central defender Kalidou Koulibaly this summer after agreeing a move ahead of Arsenal, according to reports from The Mirror.
The report claims that Koulibaly has now agreed to end his time in Serie A and join Antonio Conte’s Chelsea revolution. The 25-year-old central defender was eyed by several other European teams but Chelsea stole a march on the Senegalese centre-half in a reported £30 million deal.
The Blues were looking to complete a deal for the defender since May but his image rights and Napoli’s wish to milk more money from the deal stalled the move until now. However, the player’s representatives are now ready to sort out their terms with Napoli leaving Chelsea in clear to complete Koulibaly’s move to Stamford Bridge.
The only thing stopping this transfer from being official is a severance package which the player will agree with Napoli before bringing an end to his time in Serie A.
Also read: Chelsea officially confirm signing Michy Batshuayi from Marseille
Antonio Conte is eager to bring strong and powerful defenders at Chelsea this summer so that he can successfully execute the 3-5-2 system with Kurt Zouma and perhaps Gary Cahill at the back. However, Chelsea are also linked with a move for Leonardo Bonucci which can be completed in coming days after Italy were knocked out of Euro 2016 by Germany via a penalty shootout last night.
Koulibaly, however, looks set to be Chelsea’s second summer signing after Michy Batshuayi was officially unveiled by Chelsea earlier today. The Belgian striker was signed for a whopping £33million from Marseille as Conte edges closer to assemble a mean squad ahead of 2016/17 season.
Also read: Napoli mulling over suing Chelsea following Kalidou Koulibaly revelation, claims President
What next for Chelsea?
With Koulibaly and Batshuayi sealed, Chelsea are now focused towards signing a midfield enforcer to further improve their chances of finishing in the top-4 next season or even make a surprise dart at the league title.
N’Golo Kante has been strongly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge after recent reports have emerged of him favoring a move to Chelsea rather than Arsenal and Manchester United.
With Conte now more focussed on the Chelsea job one can expect The Blues to be more active in the transfer window and complete their transfers in coming weeks including more unlikely deals for N’golo Kante and Leonardo Bonucci.