Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp have reportedly upped their interest in Napoli’s Senegalese centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly.
The 27-year-old joined the Serie A side for just under €8 million in the summer of 2014. He has since developed into one of the best central defenders in the Italian league over the last five years.
It seems there are rumours about Koulibaly’s future every summer and this year it’s no different as Manchester United, Juventus, Manchester City and PSG are all reported to be ready to bid for the player.
However, Italian publication Il Mattino claims that Liverpool is also in the mix for Koulibaly’s signature having apparently made contact with Napoli about a possible deal.
The newspaper claims that The Reds have been closely monitoring Koulibaly’s performances as well as Ajax’s Matthijs De Ligt.
Liverpool is reported to have requested information about Koulibaly’s transfer status from the defender’s Macedonian agent, Fali Ramadani.
According to the report, The Reds were given a ballpark figure of between €110-120 million if the club wanted to pursue a deal for Koulibaly.
With Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren already on the payroll at Anfield, it’s hard to see a big-money move for any centre-back this summer. But if Lovren does head for the exit door – with rumoured interest from AC Milan – then Klopp may well have to recruit another defender.
Such a signing is unlikely to be of as high a profile as Koulibaly or Ajax’s De Ligt, however.
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