With Antonio Rüdiger heading to Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen on his way to Barcelona, Chelsea are going to need centre-backs this summer.
Names such as those of Alessandro Bastoni and Josko Gvardiol have done the rounds, but one, perhaps more realistic, target also keeps coming back: Kalidou Koulibaly.
The Senegal international has one year left on his contract at Napoli, and unless he renews, this summer would be the best time to cash in.
Many clubs are reportedly interested, with Chelsea among them, especially as Fali Ramadani, his agent, tests the waters abroad for his client.
Il Comandante #Koulibaly ha comunicato al suo agente #Ramadani che non andrà alla #Juventus per il rispetto che nutre nei confronti di #Napoli. Accetterebbe, invece, altre destinazioni: #Barcellona #Chelsea e #Psg hanno già dichiarato il loro interesse
— Raffaele Auriemma (@RafAuriemma) May 23, 2022
There is hope that a deal could be struck at around €35m, but there is one club the player will not join, and that’s Juventus.
This is according to Italian journalist Raffaele Auriemma, who took to Twitter to explain the player would not move to the Turin side ‘out of respect for Napoli’.
He would, however, ‘accept other destinations’, with Barcelona, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain all named as clubs who have ‘already declared their interest’ in the towering centre-back.
First, though, the Stamford Bridge side’s sale needs to go through.
