Liverpool want Koulibaly to partner Van Dijk in defence

Ollie Irish

22nd, June 2020

Liverpool passed up the opportunity to sign striker Timo Werner from RB Leipzig (Werner signed for Chelsea instead), a decision that raised a few brows, more so after the Reds-minus-Mo-Salah failed to score in the Merseyside derby on Sunday – it’s clear that when one of Salah, Firmino or Mane doesn’t play, Liverpool’s attack looks significantly weaker.

According to reports in Italy (a phrase you know you can trust when it appears in the English football media) Liverpool would prefer to strengthen their squad at the back – as if having the world’s best goalkeeper (Alisson, although you can have Jan Oblak if you want), world’s best centre-back (Virgil Van Dijk) and the world’s best full-back pairing (Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson) isn’t enough – and have bid £54m for Napoli’s pleasingly alliterative centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly.

Koulibaly has been coveted by Europe’s top clubs for a couple of seasons now, and surely the Senegalese must be considering a move to a top-tier club. The thought of a back five of Alisson, Robertson, Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk and Koulibaly is positively thrilling/terrifying.

Napoli’s reaction? Porca miseria, bitches! In other words, jog on unless you add an extra £40m to your offer. Yes, Napoli (specifically their bonkers president Aurelio De Laurentiis) value Koulibaly at around £90m, but they simply won’t get that for a defender in a market that has deflated massively post-Covid 19.

Posted in Liverpool, Transfers & Rumours

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