According to recent reports, Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly has been named as a top target for Manchester City this summer, although the club looks set to face competition from city rivals Manchester United for the defender.
According to the reports by The Independent, both Manchester clubs are interested in the Senegal defender, who is expected to be available for around £30 million less than the Italian club’s original asking price of £100 million due to the financial impact of the viral pandemic on football clubs.
The report also states that another of City’s defensive targets, Inter Milan’s Milan Skriniar, is also wanted by United, however, the Nerazzurri are said to be more interested in a potential swap deal with City for striker Sergio Aguero.
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Since moving to Napoli from KRC Genk for a fee of £6.98 million back in 2014, Koulibaly has gone on to establish himself as one of the best defenders in world football, with his current Transfermarkt valuation of £50.4 million ranking him as the world’s fifth-most valuable centre-back.
And although Napoli have struggled in Serie A this season – Gli Azzurri currently sit in sixth place in the league – Koulibaly has demonstrated his ability to perform at the highest level in the club’s Champions League campaign, in which he averaged 2.2 tackles, 1.5 interceptions and 5.2 clearances per game – as well as an average WhoScored match rating of 7.43.
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As such, should City be successful in their attempts to sign the 29-year-old this summer, it could be argued that they will be taking a big step towards replacing Vincent Kompany, who left the club last summer.