Koulibaly joins Chelsea from Napoli

Kalidou Koulibaly, the Senegalese central defender, has completed his move from Napoli to Chelsea for an undisclosed fee.

The 31-year-old Senegalese national team captain joined the Stamford bridge side on Saturday on a four-year deal.

Speaking about the transfer, Koulibaly said Edouard Mendy, his teammate in Senegal, and Jorginho, a former Napoli player, were instrumental in his decision to join Chelsea.

“I’m very happy to be here with this team at Chelsea,” said the former RKC Genk defender.

“It’s a big team in the world and my dream was always to play in the Premier League. 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.

“I want to thank the fans because I saw a lot of them in London and on the plane everybody was happy for me to be here. So I want to thank them and I hope the season will be really good and we will give some good moments to the fans.’”

On his part, Todd Boehly, chairman of the club, said: “Kalidou Koulibaly is one of the world’s elite defenders and we are delighted to be welcoming him to Chelsea. A great leader and an exemplary team player, Kalidou brings a wealth of experience and attributes that will benefit our squad and the club as a whole.”

Koulibaly, AFCON 2021 winner, has already linked up with the Chelsea squad on a pre-season tour in Las Vegas, US.

He is the second high-profile signing for Chelsea following Raheem Sterling’s transfer from Manchester City.