It’s all coming around for Kalidou Koulibaly late on but it’s the least deserved by a defensive all-rounder and Chelsea could well be the biggest winner

Chelsea have on Tuesday reached agreement on personal terms with 31-year-old Napoli defender, Kalidou Koulibaly.

After eight years since he moved to Italy from Genk, his defensive prowess has never kept him out of the speculations of move away to a bigger club whilst it took until his early 30s but the former Metz youngster finally looks like heading out of Napoli.

The Senegalese has been one of the most consistent top performer over the past seasons and this has seen him feature in the Serie A team of the season on four different occasions, while he was also named the best defender in the league in 2018.

Chelsea have lost one of their most experience defender this summer in Antonio Rudiger and if there’s a candidate of the right profile to fill the void left by the German, then, Koulibaly is the real deal.

A ball playing yet physical central defender, Koulibaly has a wealth of defensive experience having played in a top League and against some of the best players in the world.

Like Rudiger, he will be joining Chelsea from Italy but it gets even better as he is a more established and ready made. Getting on at Chelsea is not expected to be delayed.

The Senegal captain has been praised for his aerial prowess, defensive positioning, interception, tackling, character, danger anticipation, technique and passing ability.

His infield leadership is also another plus for Thomas Tuchel and even at 31, he is not showing any signs of slowing down, recently leading Senegal to their first ever African Cup of Nations success earlier in the year while also helping Napoli to a third place finish in the league.

Rudiger was Chelsea’s main central defender with real ball playing ability and in Koulibaly, they will have a player who can do it much better than their departed star.

Koulibaly has made over 230 Serie A appearances during his eight year stint with Napoli while he has also made over 80 appearances in European club competitions, including qualifiers for both Genk and Napoli.

In time past under Maurizio Sarri, Koulibaly had been shadowed the responsibility of playing out from the back in an attacking, possession based system.

His large size makes him a handful for any striker and this is no limitation to his pace. Koulibaly can play anywhere across the defense, either in a back three, four or five.

His versatility has even seen him being deployed as a defensive Midfielder, though that is not expected to be required of him in the blue side of London.

It is believed that Napoli will accept Chelsea’s offer of around €40 million for the player who has a year left on his current deal and Chelsea will be able to finalize the deal in no time.

A five year contract worth €10 million per annum is the agreement on personal terms between the player and Chelsea and finally, one of the best defenders to come out of Africa will finally get a move suited to his talent.

And for Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea, it would appear they could not have done a business any better than this one all summer.

Author: Kehinde Hassan Afolabi