Kalidou Koulibaly has confirmed his Napoli departure as a move to Chelsea nears completion.
The centre-back will join the Blues in a £33million deal, signing a four-year contract before flying out to the United States to join his new team-mates on pre-season tour.
He will be the second signing of the summer for Chelsea, after the arrival of Raheem Sterling, and there are likely more to come in the weeks ahead.
Nathan Ake will not be one of those, after his move from Manchester City fell through, leading Chelsea to turn their attentions to Jules Kounde and Prensel Kimpembe as potential centre-back targets.
Koulibaly spent eight years at Napoli, making well over 200 appearances, and took to Instagram to bid an emotional farewell to the Italian club.
He said: “June 1, 2014, an unforgettable date: my arrival in Naples, the beginning of a pure love story. I was a shy boy, but so eager to show the world that I could do it!
“Victories, losses, joys, disappointments. Too many emotions lived together: impossible to synthesise them. But I keep it all: in my mind, in my heart. My two sons were born in Naples. I’ve met people who will be a part of my life forever and made me and my family feel at home: from the first moment to the last.
“Thanks to you Naples, I have become the man I am today. Thanks to the club, the President, the coaches, all my teammates and all the people I had the pleasure of working with during these years: thank you, Naples and Neopolitan, for the love we gave each other.
“I am proud to have honoured you with all of me and I will continue, infinitely, to carry you in my heart and nature for you one of the most important feelings for me: respect. You were, to me, everything.
“Now I feel I need to leave and step back in the game, time for a new adventure.”
