Kalidou Koulibaly will be able to compete with war machines like Liverpool and Manchester City. The Senegalese defender is now a Chelsea player.
"Kalidou Koulibaly is the second player to join Chelsea this summer! The defender arrives from Napoli and has signed a four-year contract at Stamford Bridge. Koulibaly, international teammate of Edouard Mendy, will significantly strengthen our defensive options following the departures of Toni Rüdiger and Andreas Christensen." It is with these words that Chelsea announced, via a statement, the signing of Kalidou Koulibaly. The latter leaves Napoli where he played since 2014. He played 317 matches there (14 goals, 8 assists).
Above all, this signing in the Premier League allows the Senegalese defender to rub shoulders with the best in terms of intensity and pace. Quoted among the best defenders in the world for several years, Kalidou Koulibaly joins a club that will fight for all possible trophies.
The captain of the Teranga Lions goes to conquer England with a solid reputation. He was named the best defender in Serie A in 2017, 2018 and 2019. However, Napoli is not a warlord.
Chelsea, a long-time admirer
The story could have been written long ago between Kalidou Koulibaly and Chelsea. The club has indeed sought to recruit him in the past. However, the deal fell through. It is the Senegalese himself who delivers the information in the margin of his presentation.
He said: "Chelsea came looking for me for the first time in 2016, but we did not succeed. Now, when they came back to me, I accepted because they really wanted me to come to the Premier League to play for them. When I talked to my good friends, Edou (Edouard Mendy) & Jorginho they made my choice easy so I am really happy to be with you today (...). Everyone was happy that I was here. So I want to thank them and I hope that the season will be really good and that we will offer good moments to the fans."
