have added Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly to their list of transfer targets, as manager looks to reinforce his defence.
The 31-year-old was part of the Senegal side which won the Africa Cup of Nations in February, the first major trophy in the nation’s history, alongside Blues’ goalkeeper .
Koulibaly has been at Napoli for eight years since signing from Belgian club Genk, and has consistently been one of European football’s most consistent centre-backs since then, combining impressive positioning and physicality with quality on the ball.
With just a year left on his current contract, Koulibaly could be available for a cut-price fee and the Blues are now weighing up whether to make a move using the finances of new owner Todd Boehly, according to .
Since Koulibaly moved to Italy, Napoli have regularly challenged for the Serie A title and appeared in the UEFA Champions League, but have only managed to win a single Coppa Italia and one Italian Super Cup in that time.
Koulibaly has worked under five managers at Napoli, three of them former Chelsea bosses. Spaniard Rafael Benitez signed Koulibaly in his time in charge, before being succeeded by first Maurizio Sarri and subsequently Carlo Ancelotti.
Chelsea are in the market for new central defenders after losing both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen on free transfers. Rudiger has joined Real Madrid and Christensen is expected to sign with Barcelona imminently.
The Blues are negotiating a deal with Manchester City for Nathan Ake, who was a Chelsea players until 2017, as they also look to secure the signing of Raheem Sterling and potentially Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Sevilla’s Jules Kounde has been heavily linked with the Blues for a year, and is also on their list of potential signings this summer.
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