(Football news) Chelsea have officially signed former Napoli centre back Kalidou Koulibaly for a fee believed to be in the region of £33m. The player has signed a four year contract worth around £160,000 per week (£8.2m a year) plus bonuses and has already joined the rest of the squad for the pre-season tour in the United States. The player only had a year remaining on his contract and could be the perfect addition for the Blues who needed to bolster their defence after the departure of Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and César Azpilicueta. 

In a statement released after the signing, Koulibaly said “I'm very happy to be here with this team at Chelsea. It's a big team in the world and my dream was always to play in the Premier League. Chelsea came first to get me in 2016 but we didn't make it. Now when they came to me I accepted it because they really wanted me to come to the Premier League to play for them." The 31 year old has made over 300 appearances for Napoli since he signed from the Belgian club Genk and has been named in the Serie A Team of the Year on four occasions. 

Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly said “Kalidou Koulibaly is one of the world's elite defenders and we are delighted to be welcoming him to Chelsea. A great leader and an exemplary team player, Kalidou brings a wealth of experience and attributes that will benefit our squad and the club as a whole." Despite the departure of Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea have signed Raheem Sterling from Manchester City and have been linked with a sensational move for Cristiano Ronaldo. The arrival of Todd Boehly’s consortium has brought with it a wave of optimism at Stamford Bridge and fans will undoubtedly expect significant investment by the new owners both on and off the pitch.

Also read: Manchester United sign Christian Eriksen on a three year deal