Kalidou Koulibaly to Manchester City has gone a little quieter this week. Should the Premier League club be as interested as has been reported, then they’re not moving as quickly as Napoli would like them to.
The Serie A club need to sell a few players this summer, both due to the size of their squad and to balance the finances. That moves are going slow isn’t helping Napoli when it comes to bringing their own targets in.
Pep Guardiola’s side have been presented as being in serious negotiations for Koulibaly, with claims even getting as far as mentioning transfer fee and wages. At the weekend, it was reported in Italy that the defender is one of several Napoli players with his suitcases ready, making a move sound imminent.
Tuesday saw Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis speak to the media at his club’s preseason training camp. When asked if Koulibaly will move this summer, Corriere dello Sport quote him as replying: “The question should not be asked to me, but to Manchester United, Manchester City, PSG. To all the clubs that can afford to pay certain amounts.”
De Laurentiis would no doubt love those three clubs to be in a battle for his player, but it would appear that right now they’re not. The Napoli chief also insisted that ‘vultures’ trying to sign his stars on the cheap won’t have any success.
Regardless of any of that, the club need to sell players, so compromise is going to be needed eventually.
