Chelsea are ready to pounce for the Senegal international by making a £34m bid, according to the Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport, via The Sun.

The Blues are willing to pay £34m to sign Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, according to reports in Italy.

The west London outfit are preparing to revamp their interest in the centre-back as manager Thomas Tuchel looks to add to his backline ahead of the new season.

Following the departures of both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen as free agents, the Premier League giants need to bring in some defensive reinforcements.

Koulibaly, 31, is out of contract next year, meaning that the Italian outfit could look to offload the centre-back for a fee this summer rather than losing him for nothing next year.

Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich are also said to be interested in Koulibaly, but the centre-back would not consider playing for another Serie A club out of loyalty to Partenopei.

Koulibaly has scored three goals and registered three assists in 27 Italian top flight matches for Napoli last term.