Chelsea confirm signing of Senegalese centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli on four-year deal
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Updated 16/07/2022 at 08:09 GMT
Kalidou Koulibaly is a Chelsea player. The Blues have embarked on a wide trawl of the centre-back market over the last year as Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger ran down their contracts, and ultimately departed the club. Koulibaly has been linked with numerous top European outfits during an impressive eight-year spell at Napoli, and now he finally has his move.
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Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli as the club's second deal since the Todd Boehly-led takeover.
The Blues and their coach Thomas Tuchel have made new centre-backs their priority during the summer transfer window following the free transfer departures of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger to Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.
And they have got one reinforcement through the door in the 31-year-old Koulibaly, with others - such as Nathan Ake and Presnel Kimpembe - still potentially to come.
Those further arrivals are made all the more likely given there may yet be more defensive exits from Stamford Bridge in the coming weeks, with Cesar Azpilicueta continuing to be linked with a move to join Christensen at Barcelona.
Koulibaly, given an impressive eight-year stint in Italy, has long been a feature of gossip columns linking him with a big move away, and now he finally has it. His contract with Napoli expired next summer but Chelsea have decided to act now given their pressing defensive needs.
"I'm very happy to be here with this team at Chelsea," said Koulibaly.
"It's a big team in the world and my dream was always to play in the Premier League. Chelsea came first to get me in 2016 but we didn't make it. Now when they came to me I accepted it because they really wanted me to come to the Premier League to play for them.
"When I spoke to my good friends Edou [Mendy] and Jorginho they made my choice easier."
Koulibaly had been offered an extension by Napoli, but he decided to turn it down and join Tuchel and his Blues instead.
The deal taking Koulibaly to West London is for four years, with the Senegalese reportedly set to earn a salary of £8.4m per season.
Boehly said: "Kalidou Koulibaly is one of the world's elite defenders and we are delighted to be welcoming him to Chelsea.
"A great leader and an exemplary team player, Kalidou brings a wealth of experience and attributes that will benefit our squad and the club as a whole."
As well as Koulibaly, Chelsea signed Raheem Sterling in a £45 million deal from Manchester City. The England international, 27, joined Chelsea after winning four Premier League titles in seven years with City.
Sterling scored 13 goals in 30 league appearances for City last season, but was entering into the final year of his contract.
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