Kalidou Koulibaly was asked to join Chelsea by old friend Jorginho weeks before he moved to the club.
The Senegal defender has revealed his former Napoli teammate’s attempt to persuade him to make the transfer, as he decided he would join the Premier League club.
Chelsea hope to give Koulibaly his first appearance in a Blues shirt on Wednesday night when they face Charlotte in a pre-season friendly and their new £33million centre-back gave his view on his switch and the squad ahead of the game.
“We speak together, me and Jorgi, one month ago Jorgi text me and asked me if I wanted to come to Chelsea,” Koulibaly told the club website.
“I said, ‘I don’t know if they [want] me. I want to come but don’t want to propose it myself. If they want me to come, I will come’. And after that my choice was made.
“I am happy already. It is a talented team with a lot of young players and some experienced players. A nice mix.
“This can be a good thing for the team and city. I want to give emotion to the supporters to come to Stamford Bridge and show everybody I will work for the team to win something. I look forward to starting training.”
