Chelsea and incoming manager, Antonio Conte are being linked with a move for Napoli defender, Kalidou Koulibaly, but who exactly is he?
You won’t be alone if your knowledge on the defender isn’t as good as you think it should be, so we’re here to tell you a little more about the versatile defender that could be playing his football at Stamford Bridge next season.
Koulibaly was born in and raised in France back in 1991 by Senegalese parents, something that would later play a part in his international career.
The centre-back spent his youth career playing for two teams, he had spells at his hometown side Saint-Die and Ligue 2 side, Metz, the same club that former Chelsea winger, Florent Malouda had a brief stay at after leaving London.
After a number of years in and around the youth teams, he signed his first professional contract with Metz ahead of the 2010-11 season. From then on in, he was part of Metz’s first-team squad and made his debut in the August of that season.
It was during this time at Koulibaly would go on to make his debut for the French U20 side. He made a total of 11 appearances at youth level but never got a call from the senior side.
He would go on to make a total of 41 appearances for Metz, before joining Belgian side, Genk in 2012 on a four-year deal. He would help guide Genk into the last 32 of the Europa League, as well as winning the Belgian Cup, under manager, Mario Been.
Koulibaly wouldn’t stay long in Belgian, his time there was short but impressive none the less. In May 2014, Rafa Benitez and Napoli came calling for his services, he signed for the Serie A side on a five-year contract.
In 2015, Koulibaly would join the Senegalese national side despite a late show of interest from French manager, Didier Deschamps.
During the 2015-16 season, the defender made a total of 42 appearances for Napoli in all competitions, impressing along the way. His versatility and strong performances have caught the eye of Chelsea and other European sides alike.
His time at Napoli has at times been overshadowed after becoming the subject of racist abuse from Lazio fans during a Serie A game this season.
As a result, Napoli supporters held up signs of Koulibaly during their next game to show their support. Lazio were fined and given a two-match stadium ban for supporters.
Chelsea have reportedly made enquiries about signing the Napoli defender, who is comfortable playing across the defence and can also feature in a more defensive midfield role, this summer as Conte looks to re-shape the Blues’ defence.
The rumoured fee is believed to be around £20m and if Chelsea can snap him up for that, it looks like they have a real player on their hands.
