According to a recent report by Manchester Evening News, Serie A giants Napoli are said to be willing to cash in on their star defender Kalidou Koulibaly this summer if the right offer does arrive for his services. Manchester City’s lasting interest in the defender has been confirmed in the report, while it has been claimed that the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool have all been in for his signature in the past. While the Italian side are unlikely to get anywhere near what they had previously been offered for Koulibaly, a decent enough offer will tempt them to sell. Aurelio De Laurentiis even conceded that he was wrong to reject a £110m proposal for the defender in the past.
Although the report has clarified that Napoli are willing to sell Manchester City target Kalidou Koulibaly, whether or not Guardiola actually returns for the Senegal international’s signature this summer remains to be seen. Speaking on the matter to Canale 21, as has been claimed by Football Italia, the Napoli President said, “Koulibaly and Milik are both on their way out, transfer market permitting. So, if the transfer market allows us to sell these two excellent players, we will know how to replace them. If not, then we’ll discuss it again next year.”
What Is Manchester City’s Current Defensive Situation?
The Citizens will surely be going into the upcoming campaign with hopes of returning to the summit of the English game. The 18/19 Premier League season was nothing short of an exhibition by Pep Guardiola’s men, but they fell terribly short of that standard last time out. While a lot of the suffering they faced was arguably because of the sensational form that title rivals Liverpool were in, a small amount of blame must fall onto the shoulders of the manager and players as well. The exciting brand of football that the gaffer has dreamed up over the years was still there to see, but consistent execution of the game-plan was something they struggled with.
For all the concerns that Guardiola is likely to have, the biggest one right now is surely at centre-half. Aymeric Laporte remains the only dependable centre-half available to the manager, with John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi acting as the shabby understudies. Fernandinho was hence forced to play that role for a long time last season, but the Brazilian’s rising age was always going to be an issue. Young Spanish centre-half Eric Garcia was brought into the eleven in the latter stages of the season, but the confusion surrounding his future means that the acquisition of another defender could be on the cards at the Etihad, despite Nathan Ake’s arrival from Bournemouth.
What Makes Kalidou Koulibaly A Good Option For City?
The fact that the biggest clubs in the Premier League have all been interested in signing the defender at some point shows the quality that he boasts. The Senegalese international is, without a doubt, among the best defenders in the whole of Europe at the moment. His ability to read the play and deal with high-pressure situations in such an efficient manner are what make Koulibaly the player that he is. Standing at 1.87m tall, the 29-year-old offers a dominant physical presence in the box, while he has also got a knack of scoring important goals in the offensive phase as well.
Napoli Are Willing To Sell Manchester City Target Kalidou Koulibaly: Should Guardiola Pounce?
This City team’s back-line has been calling out for an able defender to partner up with Laporte for quite a while now, and Koulibaly seems to fit the bill all too perfectly. While the Manchester City man maintains a sensible head and tends to position himself expertly in the box, Koulibaly’s aggressive nature could make them the ideal partners.
Not only would it offer Guardiola’s side better balance at the back, but it would also provide them with the ideal spring to get the ball rolling from the defence. With the signings of Ferran Torres and Nathan Ake already in the bag, some might argue that they need not spend another massive sum on Koulibaly, but then again, that could be because they are not aware of what the Napoli man can add to this City side.
