Chelsea have stepped up their interest in Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly after lodging a bid worth up to £34m, reports The Daily Telegraph.
Antonio Conte has earmarked Koulibaly as his main defensive target after giving up hope of signing Juventus centre-back Leonardo Bonucci.
Chelsea’s bid for the 25-year-old is worth an initial £31.5m with £2.5m in performance related bonuses.
In the last two Serie A campaigns only two defenders have completed more tackles and interceptions combined than Koulibaly (309).
For more stats on Kalidou Koulibaly, click here to visit his WhoScored player page