SportWitness today have a really interesting summary of Italian reports about Kalidou Koulibaly’s future.
The defender was one of the new ownership’s first signings, arriving a year ago to replace the departing Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen. But he didn’t play to the level established by those two, and before long Wesley Fofana and then Benoit Badiashile had been added to the mix, making Koulibaly a little redundant.
That’s how the club seem to see it – Koulibaly is considered “no longer essential” by those at the club according to this piece, and new coach Mauricio Pochettino is more keen on the younger options in his position too.
That makes him a prime candidate for a sale even though the defender would like the chance to “prove himself”. Inter Milan are interested and about to lose Milan Skriniar on a free transfer. They seem the perfect destination – now all we have to do is figure out a structure that keeps Chelsea happy that then can also afford.
The Blues are keen to make a permanent sale rather than settle for a loan. Whether Inter will be happy with that is a different question, but there’s a whole lot of summer left to figure that out. The Romelu Lukaku situation hangs over this all, and that could be the key to unlocking the whole situation if Inter are still reluctant to pay for Koulibaly.
