Kalidou Koulibaly has allegedly spoken to Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri about moving to the club this summer as he struggles to settle at Chelsea.
This is according to Gazzetta dello Sport, who say that the first conversations between the pair have taken place as Koulibaly seeks a return to Serie A.
Koulibaly joined Chelsea from Napoli last summer in a £33million deal, with the Senegalese defender saying: “I’m very happy to be here with this team at Chelsea. It’s a big team in the world and my dream was always to play in the Premier League.”
However, his dream move probably hasn’t gone as well as he would have wanted, with the 31-year old yet to produce a consistent run of good performances as he has at times looked shaky under pressure and while trying to play out from the back.
Nobody expected him to hit the ground running at Chelsea after coming in from the much slower-paced Serie A, but the rumours of a conversation with Juventus suggest that he is prepared to engineer a move back to the league where he made a name for himself.
With Levi Colwill – a left-footed centreback like Koulibaly – set to be thrust into the Chelsea first team next season to join the likes of Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah and Thiago Silva, Koulibaly’s time in English football may well come to an end after just one season should he make his desire to leave the club clear.
A transfer to Juventus would not be accepted by his former fans at Napoli however, with the two teams being great rivals in Serie A, their contests representing the North-South conflict in the sport, so should Koulibaly make the move to Turin, he may be breaking a bond with a club for whom he made 317 appearances for.
Another with no sense of loyalty. Was amazing at my Napoli and was adored but went to a club with no idea and only thoughts of buying a title. To go to J******* is not something we will forget or forgive.