Chelsea’s changes under Todd Boehly continued Saturday, as the club announced that they had signed Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly in a transfer reportedly worth €40 million.
Koulibaly moves to London after eight seasons with Napoli, where he played 317 games in all competitions. Chelsea had previously attempted to bring him to the Premier League, finally circling back to get their man just before their preseason preparations truly get underway.
He has already flown to Las Vegas to join Chelsea in their preseason tour of the United States, which will feature a Sunday friendly against Club América at Allegiant Stadium before matches against Charlotte FC and a trip to Florida to face Arsenal.
Koulibaly posted a farewell letter to Napoli fans on his Instagram account just as Chelsea announced the news.
“Thanks to you, Naples, I have become the man I am today,” Koulibaly said in his letter. “Thank you, Naples and Neapolitans, for all the love we gave each other. I am proud to have honored you with all of me and I will continue, infinitely, to carry you in my heart.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgCnJhIoG4B/?hl=en
Koulibaly will step into Thomas Tuchel’s side right away, replacing Antonio Rüdiger (who moved to Real Madrid in June).
“I’m very happy to be here with this team at Chelsea. It’s a big team in the world and my dream was always to play in the Premier League,” said Koulibaly in a team statement announcing the move. “Chelsea came first to get me in 2016 but we didn’t make it. Now when they came to me I accepted it because they really wanted me to come to the Premier League to play for them. When I spoke to my good friends Edou and Jorginho they made my choice easier so I’m really happy to be with you today.”
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