Jose Enrique has given his thoughts on Napoli’s reported interest in Ibrahima Konate, with the Italian side looking at the Liverpool defender as a replacement for Kim Min-jae.
Taking to Instagram, the former Anfield fullback believed that there is ‘not a chance’ that Liverpool will allow the French international to leave this summer after Corriere dello Sport reported that Napoli are interested in the 24-year-old centre-back.
Signed for £35m in 2021, Konate has gone from strength to strength with Liverpool since arriving from RB Leipzig two years ago. And the defender’s record with the Reds is now seeing the former Bundesliga star attract some major interest from around the continent.
However, as Enrique put it himself, there’s simply no chance Liverpool will allow one of their star assets to leave the club this summer, with Napoli also unlikely to be in a financial position to offer the Anfield side the transfer fee they would want for a player like Konate.
Indeed, at 24, the Frenchman is already one of the best defenders in the Premier League and a centre-back who could star for Liverpool for many years to come. Moreover, Konate himself will not be sold on a move to Napoli even if they are the current champions of Italy.
Enrique is right to suggest that Napoli have no shot at signing Konate
Luring players from the Premier League has never been harder for non-English sides, with the Saudi Arabian revolution this summer being the first major challenge the division has faced in quite some time. Yet even still, Napoli will struggle greatly to sign a player like Konate.
As we know, the Frenchman is a regular for Liverpool and is likely being considered by the club as a long-term option in the starting XI. And for Napoli, this means they will find it difficult to land the 24-year-old defender on almost every possible front.
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