CHELSEA are on the verge of securing their second summer signing with Kalidou Koulibaly due to fly to Los Angeles to complete his medical tomorrow.
The Blues are closing in on a £34million transfer for the Napoli central defender as they look to plug the holes left by Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
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Koulibaly, 31, only has one year left on his contract in Italy but the Serie A club, who he has played over 300 times for, are ready to sell after initially rejecting Chelsea’s first offer of £27m.
However, after the Premier League team increased that, the Senegal star is due to earn about £8m a year – £150,000 a week – at Stamford Bridge.
Now he is set to meet up with Thomas Tuchel and the Chelsea squad on the west coast of America on their pre-season tour to complete his medical after jetting to the States tonight.
And he could even feature in his first game for the club in Las Vegas on Saturday when they take on Mexican outfit Club America.
And should everything go as planned, he will become the second arrival following today’s confirmation that Raheem Sterling has signed from Manchester City for £50m.
The 27-year-old arrives on a five-year contract, with the option of a further year.
Sterling is understood to be training with the squad today having completed his own medical in London before jetting 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.
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 be departing, 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.