Kalidou Koulibaly will arrive London on Wednesday to undergo his medical at Chelsea after a £33million fee was agreed with Napoli for the Senegalese international.
The 31-year-old will sign a four-year deal before joining his new team-mates in the United States.
He will earn £160,00 per week – around £8m a year, with a further £1m available in bonuses.
Koulibaly will be Chelsea’s second signing of the summer after the Blues on Wednesday announced Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling joined the club in a £47.5m deal.
The likely third signing will be to bring in Sterling’s former team-mate Nathan Ake, but the Premier League champions will only sign off on the £45m offer until a replacement has been signed.
The summer business shows that the club’s new owners under Todd Boehly, along with Jose Feliciano and Behdad Egbahli at Clearlake Capital, are ambitious and are keen to back Thomas Tuchel in the transfer market.
The Blues need at least two central defenders this summer following the departure of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, both on free transfer to Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Chelsea is expected to turn their attention to former Blues, Nathan Ake, with Manchester City yet to sanction the deal.
The Premier League champions will not release Ake until a replacement is signed at the Etihad Stadium.
