Kalidou Koulibaly, Virgil van Dijk transfer rumours re-surface – Chelsea should pass on both
By George Perry
A pair of reports dredged up Kalidou Koulibaly and Virgil van Dijk as possible transfer targets at Chelsea. The Blues do not need either player, and definitely do not need the drama that comes with Koulibaly negotiations.
Chelsea have few needs in the summer transfer window. The Blues can declare it a successful round of business if they secure a top striker and a goalkeeper (either starter or backup, depending on Thibaut Courtois’ happiness). Antonio Conte has everything else he needs in his current squad or somewhere else with the Chelsea system.
What Chelsea most definitely do not need is the aggravation that goes along with even the hint of transfer negotiations with Napoli’s chairman Aurelio de Laurentiis. Neither Kalidou Koulibaly nor any other player – perhaps ever – is worth that.
Kalidou Koulibaly recently made the same sort of non-committal, open-ended statements to talkSport that fueled his transfer rumours last summer. He would be “happy to come and play” in England, and “in the future you never know.” He will “concentrate on my club,” but “can’t talk about it now.”
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Aurelio de Laurentiis exploited similarly amorphous statements last summer. He alleged that Antonio Conte all but begged him to sell Koulibaly to Chelsea. He repeatedly – and publicly, for maximum humiliation – changed his asking price for Koulibaly. And at the end of all of it, he simply withdrew Koulibaly from the market and said he was never really for sale.
A less fraught but equally superfluous transfer target is Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk. The Evening Standard reports that Liverpool will aggressively enter the race for the defender. The prospect of having Liverpool and Chelsea both interested raises van Dijk’s projected transfer fee to £50 milion.
At that price, Liverpool can have him. Chelsea recalled an even better-coiffed Dutch defender in January with Nathan Ake. Kurt Zouma is muscling his way into the squad. Andreas Christensen will return from two stand-out seasons at Borussia Monchengladbach. And at the end of the day, Chelsea’s current back-line are out-performing all expectations.
Chelsea can bolster their defence – along with the rest of the squad – with players currently on loan or already in the squad. The Blues can save money, drama and aggravation both immediate and long-term by pursuing only their very few transfer needs.
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£50 million will get Chelsea much of the way to buying Marco Verratti or Romelu Lukaku. As for Koulibaly, all concession from Napoli will come with strings attached to the booby traps. Chelsea should not even entertain the prospect. Sorry not sorry, Aurelio de Laurentiis. You’ll have to find some other way to amuse yourself this summer.