Liverpool have offered “between 70 and 75 million euros” to sign Kalidou Koulibaly in January, according to Italian journalist Fabio Santini.
The Reds have been rocked by the news that Virgil van Dijk could miss the remainder of the season with a cruciate ligament injury, following Jordan Pickford’s tackle on him in the Merseyside derby.
It could be that Jurgen Klopp looks for centre-back reinforcements in January, with Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Fabinho his only established options in that area.
RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano is one player whose name keeps cropping up, but Koulibaly has now emerged as a contender, too.
Speaking to AreaNapoli, with Sport Witness providing the quotes, Santini claimed that the Napoli star has been the subject of a big-money bid from Liverpool:
Attention: I have sensational news about Kalidou Koulibaly. Manchester City and United are on the Senegalese defender as well as PSG.
The club that is more serious for the Senegalese is Liverpool. The Reds offer to Napoli a figure between 70 and 75 million euros, the sum that De Laurentiis asks.
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Koulibaly is an outstanding centre-back – arguably one of the best in the world – so in many ways it is exciting to see Liverpool reportedly make a bid for him.
The one issue that the Senegalese is now 29, so spending such a vast fee on someone that age could be deemed reckless.
There is no guarantee that Koulibaly’s peak will last for too much longer, whereas 21-year-old Upamecano represents the long-term future.
That being said, if the Reds are willing to spend big on Koulibaly, and it helps fill the void left by Van Dijk, you won’t find many supporters against the move.
