Chelsea are ready to splash a whopping £100 million to sign Napoli and Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly and the player’s agent confirmed that discussions have started.
Since joining Serie A challengers Napoli in 2014 the defender has been a solid wall at the back for them and have been linked with several clubs within the last year thanks to consistent stand out performances from the 28-year-old.
A rift at the Naples based club could see a lot of players leave and Koulibaly could well be on his way out.
The Senegalese has made 230 appearances for the club and has consistently delivered stand out performances which is attracting interests from not just Chelsea as Italian media outlet, Corriere del Mezzogiorno (via Daily Star) confirmed that Tottenham Hotspur are also interested in the defensive powerhouse.
Various media sources have reported that a sum total of £160 million has been made available to Chelsea’s manager Frank Lampard for the January transfers, the pursit of a £100 million player is a clear statement of intent and philosophy of quality over quantity from the manager and if this were a game of poker, he’s going all in. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Chelsea pay more than this initial bid for the player at the end of negotiations.
It appears defenders are now the new Ferrari of footballers. First Virgil Van Dyke for around £78 million followed by Harry Maguire for £81 million and now Kalidou Koulibaly may become the most expensive defender in the world at £100 million of the deal goes through, who’s next. It’s indeed a primetime for defenders and with quality ones in short supply, their transfer fees will only rise.
Lampard’s young team are exciting and definitely on the rise and with a little more mix of experience to complement Willian and Jorginho, they are enroute to formidable.
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