Chelsea have made their move for Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly – for what could be a club-record fee of £60 million – in an emphatic effort by manager Antonio Conte to strengthen his team.
If, as is now hoped, Koulibaly signs from Napoli, it will raise question marks over the immediate first-team future of England international Gary Cahill as John Terry’s partner at the heart of Chelsea’s defence.
Conte could move to a back-three if he signs the French-born Senegal international, a formation he has favoured in previous posts with Juventus and Italy.
But with Kurt Zouma hoping to return from injury by the end of the year it will undoubtedly increase the competition in defence for Cahill and also for 35-year-old Terry who signed a 12-month contract extension after being urged to do so by the new manager.
And neither is Koulibaly expected to be Chelsea’s final big signing of the summer window with the club still in the market for another striker and a growing sense that they will, finally, test Everton’s resolve to hold onto Romelu Lukaku before the window closes.
Everton are yet to receive an official Chelsea bid for Lukaku, who would also cost upwards of £60 million, but it is known that the London club would like to bring their former striker back. Chelsea will keep Diego Costa, with Atletico Madrid having given up on re-signing him after they bought Kevin Gameiro from Sevilla, but want another striker despite having spent £33 million on another Belgian, Michy Batshuayi.
Chelsea are looking to finally off-load Loic Remy and although it was thought the French striker could be a makeweight in the Lukaku deal with Everton, other clubs, including Crystal Palace, who have tried to sign Remy in the past, are interested.
Koulibaly, 25, has been Chelsea’s main defensive target all summer once it appeared certain that John Stones would be moving to Manchester City and although reports in Italy on Wednesday suggested an offer of up to £48 million had been made it is understood – according to sources - that the Premier League club are actually prepared to go far higher in an effort to, at last, force Napoli into selling.
If the scale of their bid is around £60 million, as sources claim, then it would eclipse the club record £50 million paid to Liverpool for striker Fernando Torres in January 2011. It would also be far higher than the £47.5 million City paid for Stones and even in this inflated market it would demonstrate how important it is for Conte to strengthen his defence.
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