Chelsea set to sign Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly: Decoding his stats
Premier League side Chelsea are close to agreeing a deal with Napoli to sign Senegal central defender Kalidou Koulibaly. According to Sky Sports, the deal is expected to be closed on Wednesday for a fee of between £32m and £33.7m. Meanwhile, the player has already agreed personal terms with Chelsea. Besides Koulibaly, Chelsea are also interested in signing Nathan Ake from Manchester City.
Why does this story matter?
Koulibaly is one of the best central defenders in European club football. He has been a rock at the back for Napoli for many years. His addition is massive for Chelsea, who lost Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen in the summer. This will be Koulibaly's maiden stint in the Premier League and he will be excited to make his presence felt.
Key details about the deal
Koulibaly is expected to be offered a five-year contract worth around £160,000 per week (£8.2m a year) net plus bonuses by Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea. He is highly experienced and a sturdy force at the back. He seems to be an able replcaement for Rudiger at Stamford Bridge. Notably, he had just one year left on his Napoli contract and was wanted by Juventus.
The situation of Chelsea in the transfer window
Chelsea saw both Rudiger and Christensen depart as free agents which left a hole defensively. Chelsea allowed Romelu Lukaku to return back to Inter Milan on loan, despite signing the player last summer for a record fee. Chelsea had a deal agreed with Leeds United for Raphinha but the player chose Barcelona. Chelsea have signed Raheem Sterling and are looking to get Ake next.
Chelsea's story regarding central defenders this summer
Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah, and Malang Sarr as the only senior central defenders in Thomas Tuchel's squad. With Koulibaly and Ake set to join, it gives Chelsea the muscle. Chelsea wanted Sevilla's Kounde and Juventus' Matthijs de Ligt. However, Kounde is reportedly keen to join Barca and Matthijs is closing in on a move to Bayern Munich. This made them get Koulibaly and Ake.
317 appearances for Napoli
Koulibaly has spent eight seasons at Napoli after joining the Italian club back in the summer of 2014. In 317 appearances across competitions, the defender has scored 14 goals. 13 of his goals have come in the Serie A, having played 236 games. He bagged two honors with Napoli - Coppa Italia in 2019-20 and Supercoppa Italiana in 2014.
Unique numbers for Koulibaly
As per Opta, since he joined Napoli (2014-15), Kalidou Koulibaly has been the outfield player to have completed the most passes (14,528), won the most tackles (344), and recovered the most balls (1,716) in the Serie A.
Individual honors for Koulibaly
The 31-year-old Koulibaly has been included in Serie A Team of the Year on four occasions. He won the Serie A Best Defender award in 2018-19. He has also won one Serie A Player of the Month award.
Koulibaly also played for Metz and Genk
Koulibaly started his career with Metz in Ligue 2, scoring once in 46 games. He joined Belgian side Genk next, scoring thrice in 92 matches. He won the Belgian Cup with Genk in 2012-13.
