According to recent reports, Manchester City are set to take advantage of Manchester United’s hesitation in a move for Napoli centre-back, Kalidou Koulibaly.
The reports by Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness) state that Manchester United are distracted by their Europa League campaign, and suggest that Manchester City could ‘take advantage’ of this in a move for the defender.
City are said to have already made a bid for the 29-year-old, believed to be in the region of €63-65 million (£56.9-58.7 million). However, Napoli are reported to be looking to make €150 million (£135.5 million) through player sales this summer, with Aurelio De Laurentiis, the club’s president, stating that an offer of €70 million (£63.2 million) would not be enough to sign the Senegal international.
Koulibaly arrived at Napoli from KRC Genk back in 2014, in what was a £6.98 million deal, and has gone on to make 246 appearances for the club, scoring 10 goals and providing five assists along the way.
And although the player struggled somewhat in Serie A last season, featuring just 25 times and averaging a slightly disappointing WhoScored match rating of 6.72/10, the 29-year-old’s valuation of £50.4 million ranks him as the fifth most valuable centre-back in world football.
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It has been clear that Pep Guardiola has been planning on bringing two centre-backs to the club this summer and Koulibaly has been one of the targets mentioned quite frequently, so the fact that it is reported that City currently have the upper hand in the race for the player is likely to please City fans, particularly as this upper hand is over their arch-rivals.