Kalidou Koulibaly: The suitors to sign him and where he could end up



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The good performances of Kalidou Koulibaly during the last campaigns led to persistent speculations linking him to a distance from Napoli.

Since joining the Genk club in 2014, he has established himself as one of the best advocates in the world. He helped Napoli challenge Juventus to the top of Serie A and his performances drew the attention of the European elite.

Here is an overview of the teams with which he has been linked and chances to join each of them.


Paris Saint Germain

FBL-ENG-Ligue 1 PSG-Dijon

PSG would be interested in the arrival of Koulibaly in the French capital this summer. Despite its new win in Ligue 1, PSG had a disappointing season, having not pbaded the knockout stages of the Champions League and suffered defeats in the shock Cup League and Coupe de France.

Their defensive weaknesses were revealed when they left the Champions League at Manchester United, where they made a series of basic defensive mistakes.

Although they have talented young defensemen within the club such as Marquinhos, Thilo Kehrer and Presnel Kimpembe, none of these players is as good as Koulibaly and certainly does not possess his quality.

PSG's defense has cracked under the pressure of major Champions League matches in recent years and the Senegalese international could provide them with the strength and calm they need in these matches.

The French champions should be able to make Koulibaly one of the highest paid defenders of world football, but the lack of competition they have in Ligue 1 could dissuade him from joining him.

Likelihood: 4/10


Barcelona

Ernesto Valverde

Barcelona has also shown interest in signing the 27-year-old.

Although they have been strongly linked to a move for Ajax's Ligt Mattijs in recent months and that agreement seemed to go forward at some point, the Dutchman is now linked to other clubs.

With this in mind, the La Liga champions could turn to Koulibaly.

Barcelona has not managed to qualify for the Champions League final since winning in 2015 and this must be a disappointment for their very high standards. For two consecutive seasons, they collapsed in the return game away from home, which put them out of the competition. After their defeat against Roma last year, they sadly lost to Liverpool, 4-0 to Liverpool, to Anfield, in the semi-finals this season.

In both cases, the Barcelona defense has caved under the pressure of a hostile atmosphere and the signing of a world-clbad defender like Koulibaly will help remedy this situation.

Koulibaly would endow his defense with the sturdiness and physicality that he does not currently have, while he also possesses the ballgaming ability that La Blaugrana requires of his defenders.

However, it is clear that De Ligt is Barcelona's first-choice defensive signing this summer and for this reason it is unlikely that we will see Koulibaly at Camp Nou next season.

Likelihood: 5/10


Juventus

Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini

Andrea Barzagli, who has retired for a long time, has left a vacant position in Juventus' defense.

While the Serie A champions still have one of the best defensive partnerships in world football with Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, their upcoming leadership appointment could dramatically increase their chances of signing Koulibaly.

The former manager of the Senegalese international at Napoli and the current boss of Chelsea, Maurizio Sarri, should be the successor to Mbadimiliano Allegri. If this happens, Juventus could make an effort to engage Koulibaly and support their new manager by bringing in one of his old favorites.

However, Napoli's president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, is a stubborn negotiator. With Koulibaly already claiming £ 100m, he would probably demand a much higher fee from Juventus, given that he is one of Gli Azzurri's main rivals.

Juventus may be dissuaded from making an offer for these reasons, but the possible appointment of Sarri could change that. One to watch.

Likelihood: 6/10


real Madrid

Zinedine Zidane

Real Madrid would also seek to provide Koulibaly's services this summer.

Real has had a catastrophic season, losing 17 games in all competitions, the most matches lost in a single campaign in nearly 20 years.

It was largely at their dysfunctional back-line, with Sergio Ramos have problems with injuries, Raphaël Varane suffering from a loss of form and Nacho proving to be an insufficient back-up.

Koulibaly's signature will go a long way towards solving Real's defense problems while Senegalese could very well put themselves in Sergio Ramos' shoes. He possesses the defensive awareness, pace and tenacity of the Spanish while having a much calmer temperament.

However, the control at Real is ruthless and the standards are incredibly high. Koulibaly might decide that he is better suited to such a ruthless environment where players have little time to impress.

In addition, as Ramos announced that he would stay at the club, Koulibaly might think that football opportunities for the first team might be limited.

Likelihood: 7/10


Manchester United

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

The club that has without a doubt the strongest link with Koulibaly is Manchester United.

This is no secret to anyone The team of Ole Gunnar Solskjær has an urgent need for defense reinforcement having just experienced an incredibly mediocre season during which they were terrible in the back.

Koulibaly is up to all those United currently has and he would provide leadership, calm and a talismanic defense presence that the club has desperately needed for years.

However, with Napoli remaining in Koulibaly up to £ 100m, the club could look elsewhere central defenders, because they have been burning the big tickets in recent years.

In addition, there is also the fact that Solskjær may be looking to change United's transfer policy, which goes from signing experienced players to signing promising young players Signature of Swansea winger Daniel James.

The fact that United has no football in the Champions League can count for them but the club has signed Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimović in 2016, while they had to play in Europa League.

Likelihood: 8/10


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