Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is hoping that new signing Kalidou Koulibaly can adapt quickly to life at the club after signing from Napoli.
The 31-year-old arrived for a £34 million fee and could be in line to make his first appearance for the club against Charlotte FC on Thursday.
“I’m very happy to be here with this team at Chelsea,” Koulibaly told the official Chelsea website after his arrival was made official.
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“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.”
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With both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen departing in the summer, the Blues were in need of central defensive reinforcements.
It has been reported that Tuchel is still in the market for further defensive additions, looking to sign up to four players for his backline this summer.
The Blues have made a new bid for Sevilla defender Jules Kounde, who is thought to be excited by the opportunity to learn under Koulibaly at Stamford Bridge.
A proposal of €50 million plus add ons has been submitted by the Blues as they hope to conclude a deal as early as this week.
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It appears that the 23-year-old could join Koulibaly at Chelsea this summer, and even feature on their United States tour.
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Speaking exclusively to Chelsea’s official website, Tuchel discussed the addition of Koulibaly in depth and revealed that he is hoping to have him adapted and ready to play as soon as possible.
“Very pleased. We wanted these two players and we got these two players,” he said in regards to Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling joining the club. “This is fantastic.
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“It’s exactly what we believe we need. Kali combines a level of quality, talent, personality, strength in set pieces, offensively, defensively, header, and physicality. It’s rare to find.
“He played so many matches on the highest level. He knows already some players from national team like Edu and Jorgi from Napoli.”
Continuing to discuss the possibility of Koulibaly featuring in pre-season for Chelsea, Tuchel continued: “I hope he can make his way very quickly to the team, feel well. He is now training half individual, half with the group.”
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It remains to be seen as to whether he will be available for selection against Charlotte FC on Thursday as Chelsea continue their pre-season tour, facing the MLS club in North Carolina.
Topics: Chelsea, Kalidou Koulibaly, Napoli, Football, Thomas Tuchel, Premier League
Nick Emms