Kalidou Koulibaly seen in Saudi Arabia ahead of ‘£20million Al-Hilal move’ amid Chelsea mass exodus

Kalidou Koulibaly has reportedly been spotted in Saudi Arabia after the Chelsea defender has been heavily linked with a move to the Middle Eastern state.

Having spent just one season in London, after joining Mauricio Pochettino’s side in a £34million deal from Napoli last summer, the 32-year-old is currently leading a mass exodus out of the club, with reports suggesting several other big names could follow him. 

And it appears he could be edging closer to a move to Saudi Pro League side, Al-Hilal, with Fabrizio Romano posting a video on his Twitter, showing the Senegal captain seeming to arrive in Riyadh. 

Romano claims that the centre-back, who played 32 times for Chelsea across all competitions this season, will be sold ‘for a fee close to around £19-£20m (€23-€24m)’.

The video comes from news outlet Taggat, who claim Koulibaly ‘arrived in the Saudi capital last night’ and ‘will undertake a medical’. 

Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is also reportedly on the verge of signing with Al-Ahli, while Hakim Ziyech could follow Cristiano Ronaldo to Al-Nassr, with the former Ajax forward set to be offered a bumper contract to entice him to the club.

Meanwhile, N’Golo Kante has already moved east to join the Saudi Pro League Champions Al-Ittihad after seven years at the club, while Romelu Lukaku has been also heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, but has, in the past few days re-affirmed his desire to play in Italy. 

Koulibaly, meanwhile, will now likely follow Wolves defender Ruben Neves, who yesterday delivered a speech to fans of the midlands club.

Neves will join on a club-record transfer of £47m, despite having been very close to a move to Barcelona earlier this summer. 

In an emotional video posted on the club’s Twitter, the Portuguese footballer said he had ‘made thousands of memories which will last forever’.

Koulibaly now looks set to follow, with  

More to follow…