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What’s the rumour?
As per reports from the Daily Star, Chelsea are the current favourites to land Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli ahead of their Premier League rivals Arsenal and Manchester United.
In case you didn't know:
The Senegalese international was signed by Napoli in July 2014 from Genk for 7.85 million euros and has a contract until 2021 with the club. The 26-year-old has made 156 appearances in all competitions for the Serie A club, scoring seven goals and providing five assists. He has also been part of the Serie A team of the year the last two seasons.
The 6 feet 5 inches tall defender, who is considered to be the best centre-back in Senegal, has also played 18 games for his country.
Koulibaly reportedly had a chance to play for France, as he was raised in the country and was courted by French manager - Didier Deschamps. But ignoring the interest, Koulibaly changed federations and opted to play for the Senegal National team.
The heart of the matter:
The Blues missed out on Koulibaly last summer and went on to sign Antonio Rudiger and retained Andreas Christensen in their squad. While they both have managed to break into the first-team setup, Koulibaly is on a whole other level when compared to them.
Roman Abramovich had offered £50M for Koulibaly, but that wasn’t enough to convince the Italian club to part with their prized possession. Although Koulibaly is under contract with Napoli until 2021, Chelsea are desperate to secure his signature once the transfer window reopens.
Rumour rating/probability - 8/10:
Chelsea are likely to offload David Luiz in the summer and they will need to replace the Brazilian with Koulibaly, who is reported to be at the top of their shortlist.
Author’s take:
Chelsea seek a replacement for David Luiz and the ageing Gary Cahill. Therefore, Koulibaly would be a valuable addition to the Blues' defence.
The Stamford Bridge club appear to be in the hunt for defensive reinforcements after their flimsy defence was capitulated earlier this year, and Koulibaly seems to be the answer to all their back-line problems.
