Kalidou Koulibaly’s agent, Fali Ramadani, is working to convince Manchester City to up their bid for his client to €75m.
That’s what Corriere Dello Sport report today, bringing the latest update on the ongoing transfer saga.
As you’ll be aware by now, City are keen on bringing Koulibaly to the Etihad this summer, with Pep Guardiola keen to continue improving his defence after the arrival of Nathan Aké.
So far Manchester City are yet to match Napoli’s hefty asking price, with Aurelio de Laurentiis determined to bring in as much as possible from a sale.
Negotiations between the two clubs have been slow, though, with it recently revealed that their relationship is strained following Jorginho’s failed move in 2018.
That has led to Ramadani acting as an intermediary between the two parties, and Corriere say he has taken that one step further.
Il Mattino add to this, stating that Manchester City ‘haven’t give up’ on signing the Senegalese centre back but so far won’t ‘go beyond’ the €70m they’ve already offered.
They, though, state that the ball is very much in Napoli’s court.
They have to evaluate the pros and cons of the defender, whose €6m contract is likely to ‘weigh heavily’ on the club’s finances this season.
The suggestion is they may be tempted to sell for a lower price to avoid that, although at this moment they are holding out.
Thus Manchester City need to up their bid and need convincing, which would corroborate what Corriere are saying regarding Ramadani’s efforts.
Whether he can convince them remains to be seen, with City seemingly not that keen on doing so at this moment in time.
