Chelsea completed the long awaited signing of Kalidou Koulibaly this summer, long after the defender was first linked to the club.
He’s had a bit of a rocky start at Chelsea, but he’s still delighted to have signed.
It sounds like KK has been a fan for a long time though, and when asked by the club’s official website to name players who had inspired him growing up in France, one of his picks was a former Blue too.
“Marcel Desailly and Lilian Thuram,” Koulibaly said when asked to name defenders who had influenced him as a kid.
“I was French. I am French. I was born in France, so I grew up with them as my example, and it helped me a lot.”
Desailly had a great spell at Chelsea later in his career as the Blues became more cosmopolitan and started signing players from top European clubs like AC Milan.
That process led us on the journey to becoming a top club, and now signing a world class defender like KK from Napoli feels entirely natural.
