Napoli are now reportedly ready to sanction the sale of centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, with Liverpool named as one of the sides ‘most interested’ in securing his services this summer.
According to Tutto Napoli (via Sport Witness), Gennaro Gattuso’s side have given ‘the green light’ for the 29-year-old to leave the Serie A club in the upcoming transfer window. The report suggests that Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis was previously looking for around €100 million (£89.5 million) for the Senegalese international, but will now reportedly accept an offer more in the region of €70-€80 million (£62.7-£71.6 million).
Despite the financial implications of the current viral outbreak, Tutto Napoli suggests that the Premier League champions ‘would not have much trouble’ meeting this asking price. This is despite Jurgen Klopp recently ruling out a move for Timo Werner, as he felt the club couldn’t ‘morally‘ justify spending the amount of money necessary to bring the German striker in during the current viral outbreak.
TIF Thoughts…
Koulibaly has struggled in his performances this season with Napoli, averaging a disappointing 6.76 rating for his performances in the Italian top-flight. However, his displays in the Champions League perhaps best represented his true quality, as he averaged a superb 7.43 rating across his performances in that competition (per WhoScored).
Would you like to see Liverpool sign Koulibaly?
Yes
No
Liverpool have been superb defensively this season, keeping 15 clean sheets so far in this Premier League campaign. So you could argue that they don’t really need to sign a player such as Koulibaly this summer. When you consider that the 29-year-old could cost as much as £71.6 million, perhaps the Reds would be better off looking elsewhere for defensive additions this summer.