Chelsea are reportedly closing on a deal worth €40m for Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, despite Juventus interest.
Calciomercato.it maintain the agreement could be clinched within the next 24 hours.
Their pursuit of the Senegal international was prompted by Juve entering advanced negotiations to sell Matthijs de Ligt to Bayern Munich, therefore removing Chelsea’s primary target.
Now the Bianconeri would see Koulibaly as the ideal replacement for De Ligt, but Napoli would much prefer to sell abroad rather than reinforce a direct rival.
According to The Athletic and La Gazzetta dello Sport, following on reports from Sky Sport Italia and Sportitalia of a meeting over the last couple of days, Chelsea are close to agreeing both a transfer fee with Napoli and personal terms with Koulibaly.
The 31-year-old has a contract due to expire in June 2023 and has so far not agreed an extension, as it would be with a pay cut compared to his current deal.
He had been expected to take over the captain’s armband after Lorenzo Insigne was released as a free agent to join Toronto FC.
The Africa Cup of Nations winner has been in Naples since 2014.
Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis proudly rejected offers he claimed were worth €100m in recent years, but this is the final season of his contract and the club is in the process of cost-cutting exercises on salaries.
Good to see that he is ambitious and wants to achieve success. With a third tier European force, his only hope is Scudetto success, but even that looks a step too far.
Good to see that the third tier European force has a manager with a follower who is even slower than the football that he says is slow. His only hope is that someone will ban him, but even that seems like too much effort.
Moderators, please ban Lord Allegri ASAP. He is killing the site and the comments section. Nobody even wants to discuss on the site anymore because of that clown.
lol says the clown that is dedicated to me in name and in reading my comments. I live rent free in your head and will need to start charging a fee. First you copy my name and speak like a limey and thought you could break me. Nah son, I’m American and we do not cut and run like you.