Chelsea move in on defensive target after agreeing personal terms

Posted Wednesday, July 13, 2022 by Caughtoffside.com

Chelsea have agreed personal terms with Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly but are still working on a transfer fee.

The Napoli centre-back is set to earn €10m per season at Chelsea and will sign a contract until June 2027 reports Fabrizio Romano. The transfer journalist states that the negotiations will be completed in the next few days as Chelsea are working on closing the deal for €38m plus add-ons as their final offer.

Chelsea are now closing on Kalidou Koulibaly deal! Full agreement on personal terms for €10m net per season, contract until June 2027. 🚨🔵 #CFC

Negotiation set to be completed in the coming days: Chelsea working to close the deal for €38m plus add ons as final proposal. pic.twitter.com/phS4oYhH37
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 12, 2022

Chelsea have been chasing centre-backs all summer long following the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, but Koulibaly now looks like the man to fill that void at Stamford Bridge, having come out of nowhere with regards to the London club’s targets over the last week.

Thomas Tuchel’s side have been heavily linked to Jules Kounde and Matthijs de Ligt during the current window but whether another centre-back could be on their way to Chelsea, remains to be seen. Kounde’s future is very uncertain at present, whilst de Ligt is being hunted down by Bayern Munich, with the Bundesliga champions increasingly confident of finalising a deal to sign for the Juventus defender reports 90min.

Koulibaly has been with Napoli for the last eight years and has been linked with many moves over the course of that time. It looks like the time has now come for the 31-year-old to leave Naples as he answered Chelsea’s call for defensive help ahead of the new campaign.