Transfer News: Chelsea offered the chance to sign Napoli star Kalidou Koulibaly
According to Area Napoli (h/t Football.london), Chelsea have been offered a proposal to sign Napoli star Kalidou Koulibaly in the upcoming summer transfer window.
The 30-year-old is among the best defenders in Italy and has been a defensive lynchpin for the Gli Azzurri for the better part of the last decade. Now 30, he is nearing the end of his playing career but still has a good few years left in him at the top.
If anything, Thiago Silva has shown that age is just a number as long as you adapt to the game and play to your strengths. Whether that is a path that Koulibaly will choose to walk remains to be seen.
Koulibaly had a rather forgettable 2020/21 campaign that was beset by injuries. He has now come back strong, helping Napoli qualify for the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League. There is still a lot of football left in him and a manager of Thomas Tuchel’s abilities can squeeze every last drop of it.
Koulibaly to Chelsea?
The exact details behind the proposal made to Chelsea remain unclear. But it will come as a surprise if Napoli permits their star defender to walk away for cheap. Also given Chelsea’s current situation, any deal will have to wait.
Chelsea faces a pivotal summer that might see them rebuild their defensive line. Antonio Rudiger is Real Madrid bound while Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta could also be on the move. This will leave the club short of experienced defenders, especially centre-backs.
Bringing in both quality and quantity is essential and in Koulibaly, Chelsea have a colossus of a defender in their sights. The Senegalese international is on his day a force to be reckoned with and could very well prove to be the central figure around who the Blues can restructure their backline. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen.
Any move to sign Koulibaly will, at best, be a short term solution to Chelsea’s problems. They are better off looking for younger alternatives who can serve the club for years to come. Whether we will have the luxury to do so in the summer remains to be seen.
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Trevoh Chalobah is one of our own and does a good job whenever called upon. But he alone cannot handle the job of anchoring our defence if some of our stalwarts leave in the near future.
Jorginho came in from the same club when Maurizio Sarri brought him to Stamford Bridge, while Tiemoue Bakayako and Nathaniel Chalobah have spent time on loan in Naples, indicating that the two teams have had a line of communication in recent years when it comes to transfer dealings.