Kalidou Koulibaly says he is fulfilling a dream with his £33.8 million move to Chelsea. The Senegal international has joined from Napoli on a four-year contract as the Blues finally begin to replenish their backline following the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
The deal is Chelsea's second signing of the summer following the addition of Raheem Sterling earlier in the week. The former Man City star signed a five-year contract after the Blues agreed to a £45 million deal that could rise to £55 million with the Premier League champions.
Koulibaly heads to Stamford Bridge after an eight-year spell at Napoli, where he was previously a teammate of Jorginho. The defender made more than 300 appearances for the Serie A side and became one of the team's leaders during his tenure.
READ MORE: What Kalidou Koulibaly to Chelsea transfer means for N'Golo Kante, Jorginho and Edouard Mendy
The 31-year-old, who captained his nation to AFCON glory alongside Edouard Mendy earlier in 2022, flew to London on Wednesday ahead of completing his medical and has now joined his new teammates in the United States ahead of the pre-season friendly against Club America in Las Vegas.
After signing, Koulibaly said: "I’m very happy to be here with this team at Chelsea. 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 (Edouard Mendy) 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."
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