Napoli have found their Kalidou Koulibaly replacement, according to reports. The Senegalese defender is reportedly a Liverpool target.
Gazzetta Dello Sport claims that Napoli are ready to offer Fiorentina around £26m for Nikola Malenkovic. Malenkovic would be a replacement for Koulibaly, who could leave Naples.
Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images
Report have linked the latter with Liverpool in recent weeks. In fact, Gazzetta names the Reds in this report, too, along with Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain.
But should anyone want Koulibaly, they’ll have to front £87m (€100m). That could be a real problem right now, given the economic situation.
And Gazzetta also makes it clear that Napoli aren’t just considering Malenkovic. Amir Rrahmani, currently on loan at Hellas Verona from Napoli, could return to the club for next season.
They’re apparently looking at Freiburg’s Robin Koch, too, a player who would cost around £13m.
What RTK has to say
Quite a bit to unpack here, then. The biggest take away is that Napoli are looking at life after Koulibaly, though.
If that’s true, then it suggests that they do think someone will sign the player this summer. Given the amount of communication that goes on with these deals, you’d think they’d received signs that a team will pay it.
Photo by Franco Romano/NurPhoto via Getty Images
We’d be surprised if Liverpool were set to pay £87m for anyone, though. The Independent recently claimed that the Reds would play things safe this summer – an £87m offer isn’t that.
Still, if anyone is set to move for Koulibaly we hope Liverpool join them. He’d be a very special signing.