Chelsea are signing man mountain Kalidou Koulibaly for half the amount West Ham were once reportedly willing to pay.
David Moyes was just weeks into the job on his return to West Ham in January 2020 when the Hammers were linked with Napoli and Senegal star Koulibaly.
The Daily Express and Football Italia carried ‘world exclusive’ reports that West Ham were serious about launching an audacious £70million bid for Koulibaly.
“The Hammers are prepared to splash money during the transfer window after briefly dropping into relegation places over the busy festive period,” The Express reported.
The reports suggested Koulibaly would be a gift from the West Ham owners to Moyes and a calculated risk financially given that staying in the Premier League is worth hundreds of millions.
At the time Napoli were said to be considering cashing in on the central defensive rock.
The move failed to transpire as West Ham signed Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen instead.
Six months later West Ham signed Craig Dawson and Moyes followed that up by signing Kurt Zouma from Chelsea last summer.
The Blues have since lost Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
Now Koulibaly finally looks set to move to London – but with West Ham’s rivals Chelsea instead.
The defender is nicknamed K2 after the world’s second biggest mountain.
Chelsea signing man mountain Kalidou Koulibaly for half the amount West Ham were once reportedly willing to pay
And it turns out Chelsea are signing man mountain Koulibaly for half the amount West Ham were once reportedly willing to pay.
Koulibaly’s move to Chelsea is expected to be completed today for a fee of between £32m (€38m) and £33.7m (€40m) (Sky Sports).
That is less than half the staggering £70m West Ham were reportedly prepared to pay for the now 31-year-old.
The knockdown fee is a result of the fact the former Hammers target has just one year left on his Napoli contract and his advancing age.
There may yet be business between Chelsea and West Ham, though.
Moyes is desperate to sign talented young Chelsea striker Armando Broja.
But the Albanian has been summoned to join Thomas Tuchel’s pre-season tour of the US having initially been omitted.
Signing a striker is high on both West Ham and Chelsea’s agendas this summer.
But the Hammers may have to wait for the Blues to get their business done before they are willing to let Broja leave.
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