According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Kalidou Koulibaly’s (31) move to Chelsea is imminent and could be “closed” today. The Napoli centre-back is expected to sign a five-year deal with Thomas Tuchel’s men.
Chelsea are in need of centre-back reinforcements having lost Antonio Rüdiger (29) and Andreas Christensen (26) on free transfers. The club have been linked strongly with Jules Koundé (23) since last summer’s transfer window, whilst sources contacted by Get French Football News revealed that the London club were also involved in “direct talks” for Matthijs de Ligt (22).
Having already lost two centre-backs, and with rumours swirling of a departure for captain César Azpilicueta (32), Chelsea could seek further centre-back reinforcements even with Koulibaly’s imminent arrival.
News of Koulibaly’s transfer from Napoli to Chelsea was first broken yesterday by Fabrice Hawkins and Di Marzio is now reporting on the details of the deal. The fee is expected to be €40m, whilst the Senegalese international is expected to sign a five-year deal worth €10m per year plus add-ons.
Should Koulibaly sign such a deal, it would mark a departure from Chelsea’s strategy of not offering long-term contracts to players over the age of 30.
GFFN
