Chelsea are set to fend off interest from Tottenham Hotspur to sign Kalidou Koulibaly, with new Blues owner Todd Boehly prepared to hand the Napoli defender a long-term contract.
That’s according to The Athletic, who note the Stamford Bridge outfit are close to reaching an agreement to sign Koulibaly. Boehly has worked tirelessly since buying the west London team from Roman Abramovich to replace both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
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Thomas Tuchel has required a new defensive leader after he lost Rudiger and Christensen as free agents this summer. The German and Dane have moved to La Liga at Clasico rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively after they both saw out their contracts on June 30.
Chelsea had a raft of centre-halves on their shortlist to fill the gaping void in Tuchel’s team, including Nathan Ake and Jules Kounde. But Koulibaly is likely to be the first target through the door after Boehly made a €40m (£34m) offer to Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis.
The Azzurri have discussed Koulibaly’s departure as the 31-year-old is in the last year of his contract. He has also listened to Chelsea’s interest after rejecting a new deal at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in June, which Napoli claim was worth €6m-a-year (£97.5k-a/w).
Chelsea set to beat Tottenham to sign Koulibaly from Napoli in £34m deal
Negotiations are still ongoing between Chelsea and Napoli, plus Boehly and Koulibaly, but it is expected that the 62-cap Senegal skipper will sign for Tuchel’s team. His move to west London will come as a blow for Antonio Conte, having wanted the defender at Tottenham.
That’s according to Sport, who reported at the end of May that Conte was battling interest from Chelsea and Juventus to see Koulibaly join Tottenham. The defender was also holding out for a move to Barcelona, but is now on the verge of a first taste of the Premier League.
Koulibaly’s career has so far taken him to France with Metz and Belgium with Genk, along with Italy. His Serie A displays for Napoli chiefly put his skill under the spotlight, with Frank Leboeuf once hailing the ‘fantastic’ enforcer as ‘one of the top defenders I have ever seen’.
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