Chelsea have made an offer of £52.5m to secure the signature of highly-rated Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, according to a report on the Express.
Chelsea were also interested in signing the centre-back last summer but the Premier League club’s £40m bid was rejected by the Serie A club.
But now manager Antonio Conte has set his sights on the 25-year-old again and is ready to pay whatever price necessary to lure him to the Premier League champions.
Koulibaly made 28 Serie A appearances last season and scored two goals as he helped his side to a third-placed finish, five points behind champions Juventus.
The Italian manager has lost long-serving defender John Terry, so is now looking for a long-term replacement and it seems that the Senegal international is the man that he desires. However, Italian news outlet Tuttomercato are reporting that Napoli want to hold on to their key defender so they can challenge Juventus for the Serie A next season.
Conte wants to challenge in all competitions next season and knows that he needs a squad that can handle the demands of the Premier League and UEFA Champions League.
Koulibaly would fit in comfortably in the 3-4-3 system that Conte prefers as the defender has experienced playing in that formation for Napoli. The Italian club will attempt to resist all attempts to sign the defender but the player’s agent has not ruled out a possible transfer to Stamford Bridge.
With the huge sum of money that is being offered, it is unlikely that Napoli will reject the offer.
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