The Blues are closing in on a £34million move for the Napoli centre-back as they look to fill the holes left by Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen. 1 Kalidou Koulibaly is traveling to London and will undergo his medical at Chelsea on Thursday Credit: Getty Koulibaly, 31, has just one year left on his contract in Italy but the Serie A club, for whom he has played more than 300 times, are ready to sell after initially rejecting Chelsea’s £27m first bid . However, after the Premier League giants upped that, the Senegal star is set to earn around £8million a year – £150,000 a week – at Stamford Bridge. He will have a medical on Thursday and will then have to complete his paperwork before a decision is made on whether he will meet Thomas Tuchel and the rest of the Chelsea squad in Los Angeles or Las Vegas. He could feature in his first game for the Blues in Vegas on Saturday when they face Mexican side Club America. And if all goes to plan, he will be the second arrival after Raheem Sterling was confirmed to have signed from Manchester City for £50million. The 27-year-old England forward joins on a five-year contract, with an option for a further year, in a deal worth up to £50m. Sterling, who will earn £300,000-a-week, is understood to be training with the team today, having completed his own medical in London before being ruled out and the forward could also feature against Club America. Both Koulibaly and Sterling are the first signings of new owner Todd Boehly’s era at Stamford, having taken over from Roman Abramovich earlier this year. FREE BET AND SIGN UP OFFERS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS American businessman Boehly played a key role in both deals and is working to bring in more new faces to rebuild Tuchel’s squad. Skipper Cesar Azpilicueta and full-back Marcos Alonso could also leave, but have been told more signings need to be made before they leave. Chelsea remain linked with defenders Jules Kounde from Sevilla and Presnel Kimpembe from PSG.
