Barcelona play Napoli in the first straight knockout round of the Europa League at Camp Nou tomorrow evening and they may pay very close attention to one player on the opposition side.
That would be Kalidou Koulibaly, who Diario Sport report Barcelona are interested in signing this summer transfer window.
The Senegalese centre-back has been performing at a world-class level for years and Barcelona are said to deem his signing more plausible than the financially infeasible Matthijs de Ligt of Juventus.
Koulibaly’s contract with Napoli expires in the summer of 2023 so this coming close-season will be the Italian club’s last chance to extract a meaningful fee for his services should he not renew.
It’s thought Barcelona could sign him for a fee in the region of €40m, and that the Blaugrana are keen to recruit a top-class central defender alongside a budget option.
Jules Kounde is Xavi Hernandez’s first choice, but it’s thought that it’s going to cost a small fortune to prise him from Sevilla. De Ligt is in a similar situation, so attention has now turned to Koulibaly.
