Chelsea step up pursuit of Kalidou Koulibaly as Napoli set transfer fee

Chelsea are ready to step up their pursuit of Kalidou Koulibaly, talkSPORT understands.

The Napoli defender is attracting plenty of attention as he moves into the final 12 months of his contract in Italy.

The Serie A side are looking for a transfer fee of £35million for Koulibaly, who is also wanted by several other top European clubs.

The 31-year-old has been in Naples since 2014 and has gone on to make 314 appearances for the club.

That includes 34 appearances last term, scoring three goals.

It’s not the first time he’s being linked with a move to Chelsea, either, with the Premier League club seeing a bid of over £50m being rejected by Napoli back in 2017.

Now, five years later, Koulibaly looks like a leading contender to move to Stamford Bridge, however he’s not the only player on the club’s radar.

Presnel Kimpembe, Nathan Ake and Jules Kounde have also been heavily linked with a move to west London, however it remains to be seen whether a move will be finalised.

For Chelsea, the need to bolster their defence is of the utmost importance.

Following the conclusion of last term, Thomas Tuchel lost two star defenders in the shape of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.

Rudiger completed a free transfer to Real Madrid, while Christensen left the Blues in favour of Barcelona, leaving a sizeable hole in the German coach’s defence.

However, with Koulibaly emerging as the club’s top defensive target, it means that efforts are very much stepping up to address the frailty at the back.