Koulibaly Names 2 Chelsea ‘friends’ Who Convinced Him to Move to Stamford Bridge

• Chelsea announced they had completed the signing of Koulibaly
• The defender joins the Blues from Napoli after Chelsea lost both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen
• Koulibaly, 31, said in his first interview that he always dreamt of playing in the Premier League

Kalidou Koulibaly has hailed Chelsea as a ‘big club’ in his very first sentiments after the Blues announced they have signed the Senegal international from Napoli.

Koulibaly, 31, signs a four-year deal at Stamford Bridge, bringing an end to his spell at Napoli where he made 317 appearances.

His arrival to Chelsea will be a major boost for Thomas Tuchel’s side, who recently lost Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen, who has since joined Barcelona.

I'm very happy to be here with this team at Chelsea," said Koulibaly as quoted by BBC.

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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.

"When I spoke to my good friends Edou [Mendy] and Jorginho they made my choice easier."

He becomes the second major signing for Chelsea under the ownership of Todd Boelhy after Raheem Sterling joined the club from Manchester City for £50m.

The Chelsea owner himself had nothing but positive things to say about Koulibaly, whose European stint began with Genk more than a decade ago.

"Kalidou Koulibaly is one of the world's elite defenders and we are delighted to be welcoming him to Chelsea.” Boelhy said.

The defender made his Senegal debut in 2015 and was an integral part of his nation’s side as they won the Africa Cup of Nations earlier in the year.

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Nathan Ake deal breaks down

Elsewhere, Chelsea missed out on Nathan Ake as talks with Manchester City broke down.

City decided to end talks despite Chelsea agreeing on personal terms with the defender as they felt the Blues did not meet their valuation of the centre back.

Ake is now set to remain at the Etihad next season.