Kalidou Koulibaly completes move to Al Hilal from Chelsea

Kalidou Koulibaly has joined Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal after just one season at Chelsea.

The Senegal defender has put pen to paper on a lucrative deal in the Middle East, bringing the curtain down on a short stay in England.

He becomes Al Hilal's second high-profile signing this month after they added Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves to their ranks.

Al Hilal had hoped to bring in Lionel Messi but he has instead opted to head to MLS side Inter Miami.

Koulibaly signed for Chelsea during the summer 2022 transfer window, widely seen as their successor to Antonio Rudiger after he joined Real Madrid.

He quickly endeared himself to fans with a superb volley to open the scoring in a 2-2 draw with rivals Tottenham on the second weekend of the 2022/23 season.

Injuries limited Koulibaly to only 23 Premier League Games in his only campaign in England.

READ MORE ON THE PLAYERS LINKED TO SAUDI ARABIA & THE MONEY ON OFFER

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In a statement, Chelsea said: "We would like to thank Kalidou for his contributions on and off the pitch during his time at Stamford Bridge and wish him well for the next stage of his career."

Koulibaly is the first of at least three Chelsea players heading to Saudi Arabia this summer.

Edouard Mendy and Hakim Ziyech are expected to complete transfers to Al Ahli and Al Nassr respectively in the next few days, though Romelu Lukaku has turned down an approach to join the Saudi Pro League.

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On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Toby Cudworth is joined by Graeme Bailey and Sean Walsh to discuss the latest transfer news. On the agenda is Arsenal's approach for Jurrien Timber, Kai Havertz and Declan Rice, the exodus of Chelsea players to Saudi Arabia, Moises Caicedo, Kyle Walker, Man Utd's goalkeeper plans & more!

If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!

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