Sky Sports Italia journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has said that Chelsea could make a move to sign rumoured Tottenham target Kalidou Koulibaly in the next few days.
Speaking to Wett Freunde, the Italian reporter revealed that the west London side want to sign Koulibaly based on how cheap the defender would be compared to other targets such as Milan Skriniar and Matthijs de Ligt, with Chelsea keen on signing multiple centre-backs this summer.
Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen both left Stamford Bridge last season at the end of their contracts, with club captain Cesar Azpilicueta also on close to joining FC Barcelona, which is why Chelsea could now make a late push to sign Koulibaly, who could be available for just £30m.
The Napoli star has one year left on his contract with the Italian giants, and although Tottenham are also reportedly interested in Koulibaly, Di Marzio believes Chelsea could soon make a move to sign the Serie A superstar given how easy a deal could be concluded.
The Italian journalist said: “Chelsea want him because Skriniar and De Ligt come at a heavy price. Koulibaly is also not the youngest anymore, but he is an incredible leader in defence and he is one of the defenders who can leave in the next few days. Of all those players like Skriniar and De Ligt, Koulibaly has the lower price because he only has one year left on his contract.
However, Di Marzio later added: “But it is the most difficult club because finding an agreement with [Aurelio] De Laurentiis could take weeks. Even though Koulibaly has one year left on his contract, finding an agreement with De Laurentiis is very, very difficult.”
Tottenham could still sign Koulibaly if Chelsea anger Napoli
Di Marzio is not kidding with his remarks on De Laurentiis, Napoli’s infamous filmmaker owner who could give Daniel Levy a run for his money as one of the strictest negotiators in football, and Chelsea getting on the wrong end of his temperament could help Tottenham sign Koulibaly.
After all, Fabio Paratici is a figure who has work with De Laurentiis in some dealings during his Juventus days, and this could help Tottenham greatly in their efforts to sign Koulibaly should Chelsea squander the chance to land the Senegal international.
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