Chelsea are set to sign center back Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli after the clubs reached a $40 million deal, with add-ons included, according to CBS Sports soccer insider Fabrizio Romano. The Senegalese player has already agreed to personal terms with the English club.
After talks over the transfer of Matthjis de Ligt stalled in recent days, Chelsea have pushed to sign Koulibaly and reached the final agreement on Tuesday. Eight years after his arrival in Italy, the player will leave a city where he became an icon. In fact, in May 2019, Koulibaly was named as an honorary citizen of Naples, and he was supposed to become the captain of the club this year after Lorenzo Insigne joined Toronto FC. Koulibaly leaves Napoli after winning one Coppa Italia in 2020 and the Supercoppa Italiana in 2014, playing 317 games and scoring 14 goals. He helps the team replace Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, who left on free transfers to Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively.
The documents are now set to be signed between all parties. Napoli accepted Chelsea’s conditions after talks accelerated in the last hours, and Koulibaly is now set to sign a long-term deal after the medical tests are completed. The salary of the center back will be around €10 million net per season and the contract should last until summer 2027.
