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Football London
Football London
Sport
George Smith

Carlo Ancelotti agrees with Sadio Mane about Kalidou Koulibaly amid Chelsea transfer links

Come the start of the 2020/21 season not many Premier League clubs will be able to boast a stronger looking attack than Chelsea will be able to.

The Blues, who will be looking to win the FA Cup for the ninth time in their history when they lock horns with London rivals Arsenal in Saturday's final at Wembley, have been actively busy in bolstering their attacking ranks in recent months, securing the services of Moroccan international Hakim Ziyech from Ajax and Timo Werner from RB Leipzig.

Both players, who joined the Blues for a combined total of more than £80million, will be expected to replicate the form they showed in the Eredivisie and Bundesliga, respectively, come the start of next season, with them both having delivered the goods for Ajax and RB Leipzig in recent years.

Frank Lampard on impact of Champions League on transfers

Since the start of the 2018/19 campaign, Ziyech, signed from Ajax for £37.4million, has been nothing short of outstanding, scoring 29 goals and registering 45 assists, meaning he has had a direct hand in 74 goals in less than two years at club level.

Werner, meanwhile, who started to train with his new Chelsea teammates earlier this week, will be looking to replicate the form he showed during the 2019/20 campaign, which saw him score 34 goals in all competitions for Leipzig.

The additions of Ziyech and Werner to Chelsea's attack is only going to make them an even stronger unit going forward, but it is in defence, you could argue, where reinforcements are required.

Frank Lampard's side conceded a total of 54 Premier League goals this season, which was four more than any other side that finished in the top 10.

That statistic underlines the Blues' need to add a centre-back to their ranks this summer.

And over the past couple of weeks, reports have started to surface about the Blues holding an interest in landing Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly.

The Napoli centre-back is considered as one of the best central-defenders in European football, with his physical stature and no-nonsense approach rarely going unnoticed.

Should Chelsea look to continue their spending spree this summer and lure Koulibaly to Stamford Bridge, the signing would most certainly get the seal of approval from former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti, who worked alongside Koulibaly for just over a year in Naples.

“Koulibaly belongs in the category of [Paolo] Maldini, [Lilian] Thuram, Thiago Silva, and Sergio Ramos," Ancelotti said earlier this year, as quoted by calciomercato.com.

"He’s very clever, usually he’s so fast and strong he thinks it’s no use to solve problems.

"He knows that it’s not enough to have a strong personality."

Having worked alongside Koulibaly for more than 12 months, Ancelotti will know almost every detail about the qualities Koulibaly could offer Chelsea.

Should the Blues get a deal over the line this summer, it is safe to say that Liverpool forward Sadio Mane, who plays alongside Koulibaly at international level for Senegal, would not relish the prospect of going up against his fellow countryman, as he, like Ancelotti, knows all about the 29-year-old's qualities.

Earlier this year, the Liverpool star claimed Koulibaly is one of the best centre-backs in the world, as well as admitting that he would love him to join him at Anfield.

Mane said: "Kalidou Koulibaly is an excellent defender, and one of the world's best in his position.

"I would be very happy to play alongside him at club level, as I have known him for years.

"We first got to know one another at Metz before meeting up once more in the Senegal national team.

"No club could refuse the chance to have Koulibaly in their squad.

"In any event, it would be a pleasure for me to play for Liverpool together with him.

"He would be more than welcome here."

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