Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly could leave the Serie A club this summer, as the 29-year-old has just two years left on his current deal at the Diego Maradona stadium.
With rumours that the owner of the Italian club Aurelio De Laurentiis has lowered his asking price to between £40m and £50m, a whole host of major European clubs have been put on alert for the defender's signature.
Everton are the favourites for Koulibaly which may surprise a few due to the calibre of the Napoli centre-back, however, it wouldn’t be unfeasible as he was managed by Toffees boss Carlo Ancelotti at Napoli, who demonstrated the player pull he las in the transfer window last summer, signing the likes of Allan and James Rodriguez.
There is no doubt with the Goodison Park faithful, that their defence is an area that needs to be improved on if they are to progress, as they play a defensive style which is possibly down to the lack of belief Ancelotti has in their back four.
The signing of Koulibaly would not only significantly improve their defence, but it would also give young prospects such as Ben Godfrey and Jarrad Branthwaite a more experienced partner to learn off.
It is no secret that Manchester United are on the lookout for a new centre-back to partner club captain Harry Maguire, with the likes of the Athletic signalling that this is on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s list of priorities this summer.
United need someone with leadership qualities at the back who can compliment Maguire, of which Koulibaly ticks all of these boxes, as he is both quick, strong in the air and has also showed his experience in the Champions League.
In the current financial climate, if there are any cheaper deals to be looked at then United will likely choose to go for them, and for the rumoured asking price of between £40m and £50m, surely that can’t be passed upon for a team like United who are desperate to reach a level where they can compete for football’s biggest prizes.
Koulibaly is priced at 7/1 to move to Old Trafford this summer.
Bayern are also on this list due to the inevitable departure of David Alaba in the upcoming transfer window, as the Austrian’s contract is set to run out.
With the likes of Jerome Boateng also being 32-years-old and being in the same position as Alaba contract wise, Hansi Flick’s side will need to invest in the centre of their defence, with the likes of Koulibaly being a possibility, due to the drop in asking price from Napoli.
Bayern have the odds of 8/1 to take Koulibaly to the Allianz Arena in the upcoming transfer window.
Following a troublesome season at centre-back Liverpool will be looking to invest in a new option at centre-back, as they have shown that they have very little depth in this area in terms of quality, as following the injuries to Van Dijk and Gomez this season, the likes of Joel Matip demonstrated once again that he is injury prone, and the likes of Ozan Kabak hasn’t impressed enough at Anfield to make them want to trigger the buyout clause in his contract which is rumoured to be around £25m.
If Liverpool are to reach the lofty standards that they had set prior to this season, then they will need more cover at centre-back on the off chance that something similar happens again.
The final team on this list is Manchester City, which as the odds suggest, would be the least likely team to go for the Senegal international, due to them already having the likes of John Stones, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake as centre-back options.
At present City have the best defence in the Premier League, conceding just 21 times, of which the majority of these goals came early on in the season, following a very limited pre-season break having played in the rescheduled Champions League knockout rounds.
City have been admirers of the 29-year-old for quite some time now, having enquired about his signature last summer, there is also the possibility that he could further improve the Citizens already solid looking defence.
Pep Guardiola’s side are priced at 14/1 to sign Koulibaly from Napoli.
