Barcelona are reportedly keen on Kalidou Koulibaly.
But Napoli’s president, Aurelio de Laurentiis, has shot down such rumours. He said that Barcelona are yet to ask for the Senegalese centre-back and cast doubt as to whether they have the money.
He also said that Napoli have no interest in a swap deal with Barcelona that would see Miralem Pjanic join Napoli.
Barcelona are determined to strengthen both their defence and their attack this summer and have been linked with Koulibaly as well as Sevilla’s promising young centre-back Jules Kounde.
They’ve already closed a deal to sign Andreas Christensen from Chelsea on a free transfer and are in negotiations with his Spanish teammates Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso.
But Koulibaly, whose contract with Napoli ends in the summer of 2023, appears to be beyond their reach going by De Laurentiis’ comments. Whether that holds firm or not is unknown.
Time will tell.
Napoli president de Laurentiis tells @gerardromero: “Barcelona have not asked for Koulibaly and I think Barça don’t have enough money to sign any player”. ⚠️🇸🇳 #FCB
“We’re not interested in any swap deal”, de Laurentiis said about Pjanić rumours. pic.twitter.com/nFHXFbuRUz
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 20, 2022
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