When Chelsea completed the £34 million signing of Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli in the summer of 2022, there were plenty of questions. One thing was for sure, though - at 31-years-old, there was little-to-no resale value for the defender.
But, with big thanks to the seemingly unlimited amount of money being spent by Saudi Pro League clubs this summer, the Blues were able to get a decent £20m fee for the Senegal international. However, such a fee also represents a near-£15m loss after just 12 months of the defender's service.
It came in what was an absolutely manic 2022 summer transfer window. At the time, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital had just walked into Stamford Bridge after a multi-billion-pound deal saw them buy the club from Roman Abramovich. There was no recruitment team in place, something that has since changed, and there was very much a 'scattergun approach' to how the business was dealt with.
At 31, Koulibaly is by no means at the end of his career but being the wrong side of 30 does create the risk of not being able to get too much of a fee for the centre-back. So for Chelsea to do business now, with Koulibaly at 32, is probably the right time for the defender to be sold, especially given his struggles in his sole season in the Premier League.
The Senegal international made 32 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, so he was very much a big part of the 2022/23 campaign but despite glimpses of the top-class defender he proved himself as at Napoli, the consistency was the big issue. Too many times Koulibaly looked sloppy in possession and sometimes found himself wildly out of position in a back-three or back-four.
With Levi Colwill returning to the club after an exceptional loan spell at Brighton, Koulibaly would probably have fallen down the pecking order if he stayed put. It was the right time for both parties to call it a day.
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football.london understands that, despite strong interest from Brighton in signing Colwill on a permanent basis this summer, Chelsea will not allow the 20-year-old defender to leave the club in this window. The England Under-21 international has just two years remaining on his contract in west London and the club are determined to extend his deal beyond that time.
Colwill is extremely highly-rated at Chelsea. The club genuinely believe they have a world-class talent among their ranks and are willing to give him the game-time in the team next season to help in his development.
With Koulibaly now gone and possibly Trevoh Chalobah out of the door as well this window, it allows a clear path for Colwill to play in the first-team next season. Whether that's alongside Thiago Silva or the impressive Wesley Fofana remains to be seen.
Mauricio Pochettino, who will officially begin his new role as Chelsea head coach on Saturday, has typically played with a back-four during his managerial career. So all signs would point towards a four-back with two central defenders. With the signing of Benoît Badiashile, who impressed massively following his signing from AS Monaco in January, the competition is fierce in that position.
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