In one of the most surprising transfer rumours of the month, Liverpool have been linked with a move for Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly.
The Champions League winners could make a bid for the Senegal international and that the English club have spoken to the player’s agent, as per Il Mattino.
Koulibaly has been a long-term target of Liverpool’s rivals, Manchester United, while Italian giants Juventus are also keen to sign the player.
Napoli want at least £107 million for the 27-year-old, and it’s unlikely someone like Aurelio De Laurentiis will budge from that valuation. Koulibaly’s current contract with the Italian club expires only in 2023, as he signed a new deal with them last year.
The likelihood of him signing for Juventus has probably increased over the last week after the news of the appointment of Maurizio Sarri as Juventus manager. Sarri managed and moulded Koulibaly into the player that he is today when he was the manager of Napoli.
The French-born defender has been in sensational form over the last few years and has transformed into a world-class defender. Koulibaly signed for Napoli in 2014 and has gone on to have five great seasons with the Italian team.
Koulibaly would make Liverpool unbeatable
Liverpool have a solid backline, with the addition of Virgil van Dijk and goalkeeper Alisson over the last year or so. Van Dijk has been extremely influential, and was the biggest reason behind their solid defensive performances last season.
The full-backs — Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson — have upped their game as well.
Signing a world-class player like Koulibaly would make Liverpool an even more formidable side and possibly erase any lingering doubts of vulnerability in the team.
Manager Jurgen Klopp used Joe Gomez, Dejan Lovren or Joël Matip alongside van Dijk, and while Gomez and Matip impressed, Lovren wasn’t all that authoritative.
Koulibaly has similar qualities to van Dijk, with his ability to bring the ball out from defence as well as strength and aggression, which will sync in well with van Dijk’s calm and composed play.
It would be a statement signing by the Reds if they can lure Koulibaly. Simply put, it would be one of the greatest defences in world football in recent history.
