According to recent reports, Manchester City target Kalidou Koulibaly has claimed that he would rather remain at Napoli than make a summer move to England.
According to commentator and former sports executive Enrico Fedele, who was speaking on Canale 21’s program Il Bello del Calcio (via Sport Witness), Manchester City transfer target Koulibaly ‘would prefer to continue with Gennaro Gattuso’s side’ rather than making a summer move away from the club – on the condition that Napoli offer him a new contract with a significant pay rise.
However, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is reportedly not willing to let the centre-back remain in Naples, as he feels the sale of Koulibaly is ‘an important expense for the club’.
As such, Fedele has stated that it looks like the defender will indeed be on the move this summer, saying: “As far as I know, [that] there is one team more interested than others and who are very close to buying the player: it’s Manchester City.”
TIF Thoughts…
So, although it would appear good news for City that Fedele believes that the club are ‘very close’ to buying the £50.4 million-rated centre-back, it perhaps slightly sours the potential move knowing that the player would rather stay where he is.
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However, this may not derail Pep Guardiola’s transfer plans too much as he has previously outlined his desire to bring two new central defenders to the club this summer, albeit with Koulibaly thought to be his number-one target in the position.