Ever since CAS overturned the decision to ban Manchester City from European competitions for the next two years, the Premier League club’s name has been all over transfer rumours around the globe.
Granted the ability to use Champions League football as a pull, the Cityzens are now focused on the market, as their aim is to bolster their squad in order to avoid a repeat of this year’s league performance that saw them unable to keep up with Jürgen Klopp’s rampant Liverpool.
The first area to address will be the defence, and Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly appears to be their number one option going forward.
Speculation that a bid had been made via the player’s agent, Fali Ramadani, has been rife, and Corriere dello Mezzogiorno add to it on Monday.
The local newspaper explain the representative held a meeting with Napoli’s owner Aurelio De Laurentiis on Sunday, where the pair broached various subjects.
One of those was the offer made by Manchester City, which Corriere dello Mezzogiorno describe as being ‘still too low’.
No figures are mentioned, so we don’t know what the bid actually is, but a lot will depend on De Laurentiis’ leniency going forward.
It’s been repeated time and time again that he wants €100m for his star player, but there has been a feeling that a fee of €70-80m might be enough to convince him in this post-Covid-19 market.
Either way, Manchester City need to find a bit of extra cash down the back of the sofa if they are to convince him, it seems.
