According to a report from Tuesday’s paper edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport via Sport Witness, Liverpool are still eyeing a swoop for highly-rated Napoli colossus Kalidou Koulibaly in the summer – but chairman Aurelio de Laurentiis has remained firm on his hefty €100 million (£88 million) price tag.
Koulibaly, starting just 14 league games for the Serie A side this season, has managed to make more blocks than any other Napoli player in that time, attracting interest from some of Europe’s top clubs including the Reds.
The 28-year-old stalwart has also been likened to legendary Italian defenders Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Maldini in the past by none other than rival boss Carlo Ancelotti, but as La Gazzetta reiterate, Michael Edwards and Liverpool will have to splash the cash in order to secure his signature.
Should we sign Koulibaly for £88 million?
Too expensive, don't do it
Worth every penny
Klopp appears to be on the look out for defensive additions as centre-back Dejan Lovren reportedly nears an Anfield exit, with the 6ft 4 colossus appearing firmly on our radar as a potential partner to Virgil van Dijk.
La Gazzetta also report that a Serbian source claims Napoli are targeting Fiorentina’s Nikola Milenkovic, which the paper suggests could be a hint at the club’s desire to offload Koulibaly for a big fee as they prepare for life without the Senegalese international.
According to WhoScored, the ‘extraordinary‘ centre-back has averaged more clearances than Van Dijk in the Champions League this campaign whilst also racking up a superior number of tackles in the league – potentially indicating he would compliment the Dutchman in our starting line up.
Whether or not we do decide to invest heavily in the player remains to be seen, but one thing seems certain, Koulibaly’s quality may be evident.