Chelsea are reportedly set to reignite their interest in long-term target Kalidou Koulibaly as Antonio Conte keeps his search on for a perfect replacement for outgoing player John Terry. And the Napoli centre-half has been one of the best players to fill in that role for any team.
Despite not playing many games in the first team, having someone like Terry on the bench was a huge assurance for the Italian boss. And now with the Blues challenging on four fronts next season, Conte would be needing more reinforcements to retain the consistency, which was key to Chelsea’ title-winning season.
Conte has made it clear that the first team place is assured to no one and despite the brilliant displays of Cahill, David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta last season, Koulibaly could be a direct entry to the first team if he manages to impresses. And the Senegal international has already impressed Conte with his previous displays as the former Juventus manager had him as one of his top targets last summer.
Chelsea should continue with their successful three-man defence next season too, and to cope up with the hectic midweek fixtures of the Champions League as well as EFL Cup, Conte would need at least three centre-halves on the bench for effective squad rotation.
And Koulibaly could be the one to join Nathan Ake and Kurt Zouma this summer. As per reports, Chelsea have made a double raid on Napoli stars Lorenzo Insigne and Koulibaly, which amounts to a whopping £100 million. Koulibaly has a £44 million bid submitted to his name by the London side and given the positive feedback by his agent about the club, it could see the deal through.
Talking to Mondo Napoli about the deal, his agent expressed, “Chelsea? They are a world class team that many players would like to join but I don’t want to talk about this now.”
However, Premium Sport has claimed that the African enforcer has a deal with the club, which would allow him to leave if a deal in the region of £52 million is reached. Chelsea, in that case, would have to increase their bid and Conte’s admiration for the player, given that he was before David Luiz on his target list last summer, might see the London club putting it.
A centre-half by nature, Koulibaly relies hugely on his aggressive approach and intelligent game reading. And at 187cm, he could be a perfect player to have at the back. Making his debut for Senegal in September 2015, he has earned 16 caps since then.
