Chelsea are “very close” to agreeing a deal to sign Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, according to French journalist Fabrice Hawkins.

The reporter claims that the Senegalese international is likely to join the Blues for €40m (£34m) with the centre-back expected to put pen to paper on a three-year contract:

🚨🚨Kalidou Koulibaly est tout proche de signer à Chelsea !
L’international sénégalais devrait s’engager pour 3 ans.
Coût de l’opération 40 millions d’euros ! pic.twitter.com/mqMrlzx68D

— Fabrice Hawkins (@FabriceHawkins) July 12, 2022

We shall have to wait and see whether other sources do confirm Hawkins’ story, although he has been pretty reliable in the past when reporting such transfer stories.

It is believed that Chelsea did meet with Koulibaly’s agent, Fali Ramadani, yesterday which is likely where the terms of the contract were discussed.

Discussions have also reportedly been held with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain’s Presnel Kimpembe, Juventus’s Matthijs de Ligt and Sevilla’s Jules Kounde.

However, it looks as if de Ligt has his heart set on a move to Bayern Munich while Kimpembe seems to be keen on staying at PSG. If it is down to a straight choice between Koulibaly and Kounde, Blues boss Thomas Tuchel is said to favour the former so it appears that the German has got his way.