REPORT: £90M top defender offered to Chelsea as Tuchel eyes Rudiger Replacement
According to rumours, Chelsea and several other major European teams have made offers to Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly this summer.
The Senegal international’s contract expires next summer, and his agent, Fali Ramadani, is currently pitching him to clubs.
Koulibaly has previously been linked with a move to Chelsea, and with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen due to depart at the end of the season, the Blues have been identified as a possible destination.
According to Sport Witness, Area Napoli’s agent is “offering the Napoli defender to big names in Europe,” with Chelsea being one of the clubs mentioned.
Chelsea now has a special operating license that allows them to perform any player activity. Ramadani is ‘pushing his client’ to the Blues in the hopes of having a normal summer transfer window, as well as the fact that they need to replace at least two outgoing defenders.
A figure of €35 million has been floated, but with only one year left on his current contract, Chelsea is unlikely to meet that figure.
Chelsea has also been linked with other defenders. Marquinhos is a favorite of Tuchel’s, and Presnel Kimpembe and Josko Gvardiol have also been considered.
Tuchel was disappointed to learn that Rudiger will leave Chelsea at the end of the season, despite Chelsea’s inability to persuade the German to extend his contract.
“I would have preferred him to stay, and he would have been a key figure, but things happen, and we are on good terms, and now he must finish at the same level he began.”