(Football news) Kalidou Koulibaly has agreed personal terms with Chelsea which could be their second huge summer signing for the Blues. The club finalised the deal of Raheem Sterling who signed a five-year deal for the west London side. Although there's yet to be an official announcement but the Englishman is set to join up with Thomas Tuchel's squad in the US this week. Chelsea have been looking to strengthen their defence for quite some time after losing Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen to Barcelona, both on free transfers as Tuchel needs to add at least two defenders this transfer window.
The Blues meanwhile are hopeful of signing both Ake and Koulibaly as Raheem Sterling's move from Manchester City is expected to be made official in the next 48 hours. The England international will go to Los Angeles where he will be officially presented to the fans. The 27-year-old has agreed a five-year contract to join Chelsea in a £50m deal, while Ake's potential return to Stamford Bridge is believed to be more or less done. The Dutch international joined City from Bournemouth in August 2020 for £40m and he has since gone on to play 40 games for Pep Guardiola's side. He had previously spent five years at Chelsea where he had several loan moves, before eventually signing for Bournemouth on a permanent deal in 2017.
On the other hand, Senegal captain Koulibaly who just turned 31 has been with Napoli since 2014 and has made 317 appearances for the club from Naples. Napoli are ready to accept a deal worth €38m (£32.1m), which is going to be paid in two instalments, in addition to a further €2m (£1.7m) in bonuses. Talks between Chelsea and Koulibaly escalated because of his contract only having one year left.The Senegal international will reportedly earn £160,000-a-week at Stamford Bridge, in addition to various performance bonuses. Initial reports in Italy had suggested that Koulibaly would only be handed a three-year contract with the option for a fourth, but Di Marzio claims the centre-back will sign a five-year deal for Thomas Tuchel’s side
This would mark a dramatic change in approach from the Roman Abramovich era, where they never recruited players over the age of 30 and only handed short-term contracts to them. This clearly underlines the extent to which co-owner Todd Boehly is backing Thomas Tuchel in this transfer window. The deal is at an advanced stage as Koulibaly may not return to Napoli’s pre-season camp in Val di Sole, having been permitted to meet with his agent in Milan to finalise the deal. Chelsea will be hoping to wrap up a deal for Koulibaly quickly and then turn their focus on signing two more centre-backs in the squad.
Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti has also addressed Koulibaly’s potential exit, saying during a fan Q&A on Instagram “I prefer Koulibaly to be with us always, especially as he would be captain this season. If he chooses to leave, we will never stop thanking him for all the help he has given us. If he wants to choose something else, we wish him all the best, because he deserves it.”
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