The Blues are on the verge of adding an experienced centre-back to their ranks.
Chelsea have reportedly reached an agreement with Napoli to sign Kalidou Koulibaly ahead of the next season.
The Blues intensified their efforts to sign the Senegalese star after Bayern Munich took the lead in the transfer race to sign Matthijs de Ligt.
Chelsea are still monitoring the Dutch defender, but now they have a new defender to integrate into their squad.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea and Napoli have reached a full agreement over Koulibaly’s transfer.
The Premier League giants will pay €40m for the Napoli star, who will earn a €10m-per-season salary at Stamford Bridge.
Since moving to Napoli from Genk in 2014, Koulibaly has developed into one of the best defenders in Serie A. A move to Chelsea would provide him with a new challenge as he would replace Antonio Rudiger at Stamford Bridge.
The departures of Rudiger and Andreas Christensen have forced Chelsea to look for new centre-backs this summer.
The Blues have maintained their interest in Sevilla’s Jules Kounde, but Koulibaly’s arrival might convince them to shift their focus toward other areas of the pitch.
However, it is still unclear how Koulibaly’s imminent move would affect De Ligt’s possible transfer to Bayern. The Bavarians are in negotiations with Juve over a move.
But, now that Juve’s main target to replace De Ligt is unavailable, they might decide to keep the Dutchman.
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