Chelsea FC becomes close to agreeing on a deal with Napoli to sign Senegal center-back Kalidou Koulibaly as they look to rebuild their defense for next season, according to Sky in Italy. The deal is expected to be closed on Wednesday for a fee of between £32m (€38m) and £33.7m (€40m), as the Blues are expected to end the deal today, after the Italian club south of Italy agreed to the Blues' offer.
The Senegal captain is about to move to Stamford Bridge for €40 million, and according to Sky Sports, the two clubs will finalize the deal today. On Tuesday, Coulibaly confirmed that negotiations with the Premier League giants had reached their final stages, while Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti refused to rule out the possibility of the defender and captain leaving.
Club director Cristiano Giuntoli said last weekend that the club was ready to offer Koulibaly a new contract worth €6 million a year as his current contract is set to expire next summer.
Spalletti was planning to award the veteran defender the captaincy for 2022-23 following the departure of Lorenzo Insigne. Koulibaly was Juventus' targeted goal to bolster their defense, but the old lady should look elsewhere now that the player is close to Chelsea.
The 31-year-old joined Napoli in a €7.7 million deal from Genk in the summer of 2014 and has made 317 appearances for the Partenobi.