Barcelona, PSG and Chelsea emerge as possible destinations for 31-year-old: Reports
Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), and Chelsea have all emerged as possible destinations for Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly. Giacomo Iacobellis, a journalist for TuttoMercatoWeb and Sport, has claimed.
Barcelona, PSG, and Chelsea are all in need of quality centre-backs. PSG have not had much luck with Sergio Ramos, who joined from Real Madrid last summer. The Spaniard struggled to keep himself fit and made just 13 appearances in all competitions in the 2021-22 season.
With Gerard Pique nearing the final stretch of his career and Samuel Umtiti struggling to live up to his potential, Barca need a strong centre-back to pair with Ronald Araujo.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have lost Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger this summer and are in dire need of reinforcements.
In 2019, Man United tried to sign Koulibaly. Napoli asked for £75m. Man United refused. Fast forward 2 weeks later, they signed Harry Maguire for £80m. The rest is history!!! https://t.co/6lorVOhEYY
Iacobellis has not revealed whether or not the clubs have already made concrete offers for Koulibaly, but has confirmed that Napoli are already looking for a replacement. The Serie A outfit are reportedly negotiating with Fenerbahce for their South Korean centre-back Kim Min-jae.
Koulibaly is widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs in Europe. The Senegalese has proven himself to be an astute reader of the game, a vocal leader and an excellent interceptor. He is also physically intimidating and great at aerial duels.
Since joining Napoli from Genk in 2014, he has featured in 317 games across competitions for the Italian outfit, scoring 14 goals and providing eight assists.
Chelsea target Koulibaly could snub Juventus for Barcelona
Having gone trophyless in the 2021-22 campaign, Barcelona need reinforcements to be more competitive in the upcoming season. A strong centre-back like Kalidou Koulibaly could go a long way in improving their shaky defense.
As per Fabrizio Romano, Koulibaly, whose contract expires in June 2023, wishes to join Barcelona. Juventus wish to bring the player to the Allianz Stadium but could have difficulty agreeing personal terms. The transfer guru has not revealed whether or not the Blaugrana have already submitted an official bid.
Chelsea, on the other hand, are firmly in pursuit of Matthijs de Ligt. Juve expect the Blues and Bayern Munich to submit official bids for the Dutch defender soon.
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