Kalidou Koulibaly has explained his decision to move to Chelsea, revealing that manager Thomas Tuchel and players Jorginho and Edouard Mendy contacted him to encourage him to make the move.
The centre-back joined the rest of Chelsea's squad on their pre-season tour of the United States in a £34million move from Napoli last week in Las Vegas.Koulibaly becomes Chelsea's second major signing after Raheem Sterling arrived for Manchester City.Speaking for the first time about the move to Chelsea's official website, the defender revealed that friends within the club and the manager had contacted him to convince him to move to Stamford Bridge."I lived in Napoli for eight years, everyone knew me there, and I had a great time in Naples," he began. "After eight years, I felt it was time for a new challenge and I didn't hesitate when I got the call from Chelsea. It almost happened in 2016, but now it's 2022 and I'm happy to be here."Koulibaly has previously played alongside Jorginho at Napoli, while Mendy is his international team-mate with the Senegalese side. Asked about their influence, Koulibaly said: "I talk to both of them (Jorginho and Mendy) a lot. Jorgi texted me and asked me if I wanted to come to Chelsea. I wasn't sure if they wanted me at the time. But I said yes."It's the same thing with Edou, he asked me the question and said he's done and I'll see him soon.
"The Chelsea new signing also revealed that manager Tuchel helped him cheat."It was important that he called me, he told me what he wanted from me and everything he said about coming to Chelsea was perfect for me," the defender said.“I am very happy to work under him. I knew him from his days in Paris at PSG and called him directly to ask if he wanted to come to Chelsea and the answer was yes. I am very happy. work with him; Working with his staff. He is a good man, He's a great coach and I'm looking forward to working with him."
On trials for a move to the Premier League, he said: “Everything is its own challenge in life.
"Moving to London and moving from the Premier League, Serie A is a big step, but this is to show everyone that I'm a player that I want to be. I think it's the right time to come." I'm very happy to be at this big club."Koulibaly could make his debut against MLS side Charlotte FC in North Carolina on Wednesday night, but Tuchel admits he is reluctant to do so.