Chelsea have completed the signing of defender Kalidou Koulibaly from Italian Serie A side Napoli on a four-year deal.
Koulibaly arrives at Stamford Bridge to seal the void created in the Blues’s defense after the departure of Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid earlier.
Koulibaly has expressed his joy to be playing in the English Premier League next season.
‘I’m very happy to be here with this team at Chelsea,’ said Koulibaly. ‘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.’
The Senegal captain becomes the second signing for Thomas Tuchel under the management of Todd Boehly after Raheem Sterling signed from champions Manchester City.
Todd Boehly, chairman and co-controlling owner, 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.’
