Chelsea prepare club-record bid for defensive target

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is willing to spend a club-record sum to sign Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly. The Blues have been in negotiations for the player since the start of June.

According to The Telegraph, the Blues are planning a record bid for the central defender after Napoli were reluctant to accept a negotiated price.

The West London giants will table a £60m offer for the Senegalese international which is about £10m more that what was spent on Fernando Torres five years ago.

Should things go as planned, Conte could revert to his preferred 3-5-2 formation with John Terry, Gary Cahill and Koulibaly occupying the positions.

Kurt Zouma is currently on a recovery path from a long-term injury, and his return could well see one of Terry or Cahill dropped to the bench.