Chelsea Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Kalidou Koulibaly and John Terry

Chelsea are reportedly lining up Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly as a long-term replacement for John Terry but could have to pay up to £60 million to snap up the Senegalese.

According to the Daily Star's Paul Hetherington, centre-back Koulibaly is Chelsea manager Antonio Conte's top target for the summer as he looks to fill the gap left by captain Terry.

The 36-year-old Stamford Bridge stalwart is expected to leave Chelsea in the summer and reportedly has offers on the table from the United States' Major League Soccer and the Chinese Super League, per Hetherington.

Terry's years as a first-choice centre-back at Chelsea have come to an end this season under Conte, with the Italian manager implementing a 3-4-3 system that includes a back three of Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Gary Cahill.

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The former England captain can no longer contribute as he once did, and his departure from the west London side has seemed inevitable for some time.

However, Chelsea have a problem with defensive depth even with Terry still in the squad, an issue that will be exacerbated further when the Englishman departs.

Conte has been fortunate in 2016-17 that none of his first-choice back line have picked up injuries, suspensions or lost form, as Kurt Zouma is the only reliable back-up he has to call upon, and the Frenchman has not had a run of first-team football for a long time—he only recently returned from a major injury:

Signing Koulibaly would go a long way to solving that issue at Chelsea and would provide fierce competition for the likes of Cahill and Luiz.

The 25-year-old is an imposing presence at centre-back, boasts terrific pace and a fantastic passing range.

He could likely slot very easily into Conte's system and has the physicality to adapt quickly to the Premier League.

Koulibaly's enormous price tag could prove a sticking point for Chelsea, but as a replacement for a player of Terry's stature there are few better options in European football.