How much will Kalidou Koulibaly earn at Chelsea?
Stuart Telford
- Updated: 13 Jul 2022 08:49 CDT
- 3 min read
Chelsea are set to sign Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli. How much will the Senegal centre-back earn at Stamford Bridge?
Chelsea had a pressing need to sign some centre-backs this summer after losing Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, and it appears they've got their man in Napoli captain Koulibaly.
The 31-year-old - who won the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal alongside future teammate Edouard Mendy in February - is set to sign a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are close to agreeing a deal with Napoli for Kalidou Koulibaly, according to The Athletic 📝 pic.twitter.com/avxgxs4vDo
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) July 12, 2022
Sources report that the defender will earn €10 million per year - equivalent to £8.4 million - which would make him the fifth-highest paid player at the club after Raheem Sterling, N'Golo Kante, Timo Werner and Ben Chilwell.
Fabrizio Romano reports that Chelsea sources consider a deal "just a matter of time." He is likely to be joined by Manchester City pair Sterling and Nathan Ake in short order, with the former set to be the club's highest-paid player.
Thomas Tuchel is likely to use Koulibaly on the right of his preferred back three, with Thiago Silva through the middle and left-footed Ake on the other side.
How good is Kouibaly?
Koulibaly has been one of the most in-demand centre-back in world football for some years now, having been ever-present in Napoli's back-line since 2014.
He won the Supercoppa Italiana in his first season at the club and helped them to Coppa Italia glory in 2020.
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With Lorenzo Insigne leaving for Toronto this summer, Koulibaly was set to be named captain at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona for the coming campaign.
A defensive man-mountain nicknamed K2 by Napoli fans, Koulibaly averaged two tackles and 10 pressures per game in 2021/22, but was also in the top 98th percentile for dribbles completed across Serie A.
