Kalidou Koulibaly

[the wes 7,212]

Antonio Conte hopes to bring Napoli's Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly, 24, to Chelsea in the summer. (Gazzetta dello Sport)

[lucio 4,474]

 

[Styles 9,790]

He looks like a talented version of Mangala.

[Blue Colored Sky 1,799]

Guy's a beast. I remember watching his first game in Napoli when he obviously was raw but I already saw a great potential with some formidable tackles. And now wow, what a player. He has pace, power, size, can pass with left and right foot and is not afraid to start the run from the back. Crucially he has self-belief. And what can be better if you see that he is still devoloping with each passing season ?

I should be a consultant, I only needed one game to see something great in him. That Chelsea chief scout Piet De Visser, as far as I know Belgium is part of his area. Yet he let this monster go for cheap somewhere. But he won't say you that.(Or say that people doesn't listen to him).

[LAM09 5,981]

I think he could be a great signing in the £20m region. His improvement this season has been incredible

[joaosoares 12]

He could turn out to be a great signing but I would rather sign Stones or Bonucci or bring Christensen back from his loan.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Tonelli signed for napoli. He is a CB...

[Thor 1,532]

On 5/22/2016 at 7:13 AM, joaosoares said:

He could turn out to be a great signing but I would rather sign Stones or Bonucci or bring Christensen back from his loan.

Much rather Koulibaly over Bonucci. Much younger, and is a signing for continued success for the future IMO. Not to mention his pace, and physical advantage over Bonucci sure us up at the back, even though he clearly isn't as technically proficient. 

 

Signing both Koulibaly and Bonucci would be fantastic though. 

[jernej93 565]

On 22. 5. 2016 at 11:13 PM, joaosoares said:

He could turn out to be a great signing but I would rather sign Stones or Bonucci or bring Christensen back from his loan.

 

Stones over him? Being good (good for a defender!) on the ball doesn't make you a good defender (David Luiz?)

[the wes 7,212]

14 hours ago, BlueLyon said:

Tonelli signed for napoli. He is a CB...

That's a good sign 

[the wes 7,212]

Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, who claim a £23.3million (€30m) bid would be enough to bring Napoli to the table. 

 

[the wes 7,212]

On 22/05/2016 at 9:42 AM, lucio said:

 

His style would be perfect for the PL 

[scargo 75]

17 hours ago, BlueLyon said:

TONELLI는 나폴리에 대한 서명했다. 그는 CB입니다 ...

Maybe Tonelli will replace Raul Albiol.

[Melanicus 5,208]

This guy would be perfect signing & exactly the type of CB Conte likes - big, strong, fast, good pasing with both of his feet, strong in the tackle and reads game well. If he and Zouma can develop a good understanding I can see this being one of the best CB partnerships in the future, similar to Vidic-Ferdinand or our own Terry-Carvalho. I'm all for it and he wouldn't cost that much.

[Magic Lamps 10,414]

Reminds me of Djilobodji. Good athlete not sure about the technical and mental aspects of his game yet. 

[Henrique 9,074]

Another player from Seria A...

[Pizy 15,911]

5 minutes ago, Henrique said:

Another player from Seria A...

Another lazy media link I think. It's like they think Conte has only ever watched Serie A football and nothing else.

[Sovieticus 740]

Him and Zouma would casually serve their BBC. That'd be nice.

[Captain Ahmed 528]

Napoli set Kalidou Koulibaly price as Chelsea prepare bid

Quote

After a stellar season that has raised his stock to international standard levels where all the big boys of European football are taking notice, center back Kalidou Koulibaly may or may not be looking for a new and improved contract at Napoli.  He also may or may not be looking to move, especially if he doesn't get his wishes.  Sure, he wants to play Champions League football, but he also wants to get paid.  At least I'm presuming that's how the motivational forces behind these recent rumors linking the 24-year-old with Chelsea (and others like Manchester United) are playing out.But if Chelsea's interest is real — we were supposedly just mulling over a potential bid last time around — it looks like we now have a price target to aim for.

the Partenopei are expected to demand as much as €30 million should negotiations take place in the coming weeks.-source: Gazzetta World

That's certainly no bargain, though Koulibaly appears to be no ordinary center back with his impressive combination of size, speed, strength, and skills.  But for the prices involved, this cannot be just another Papy Djilobodji (coincidentally an international teammate of Koulibaly's) or Michael Hector random moonshot.  This needs to matter and make an impact.On the plus side, unlike the massive transfers we're supposedly considering at the other end of the pitch (including Koulibaly's current teammate Gonzalo Higuain), defense is an actual need with the current core group aging quickly and the next generation still unproven (or coming off of major knee surgery) and very young.  Mats Hummels was an ideal target, but he's already chosen Bayern Munich.  Others like Mehdi Benatia (who's now definitely surplus to requirements at Bayern) or Kostas Manolas (he plays for AS Roma, and thus by default, has to be linked with Chelsea) could also be options, but Koulibaly may yet be the best choice.Napoli did sign a new center back yesterday, 26-year-old Lorenzo Tonelli, who could be Koulibaly's replacement.  (Or he could be Raul Albiol's replacement, too, of course.

weaintgotnohistory

 

[Blue Colored Sky 1,799]

The good thing is we're actually speaking with Napoli and were given asking price. But it doesn't mean that Chelsea are going to pay that amount. Hopefully it's not 50-60m€ but something remotely reasonable.

I'm hyped tbf.