Barcelona And Other Top European Clubs To Battle Over The Signature Of Kalidou Koulibaly.

Spanish gaints Barcelona and other top European clubs will reportedly have the chance to sign Kalidou Koulibaly from Serie A giants Napoli in the summer.

According to Spanish source Fichajes, Serie A heavyweights Napoli are considering selling Kalidou Koulibaly during the summer transfer season. As a result, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Manchester City have been given the opportunity to sign the 30-year-old defender.

Since joining Napoli from KRC Genk in July 2014 for £6.4 million, Kalidou Koulibaly has progressed in leaps and bounds. Over the last eight years, the Senegalese player has proven himself as one of the greatest defenders in world, having won the 2021 African Cup of Nations with his country earlier this year.

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Koulibaly has made 310 appearances for Napoli, scoring 13 goals and assisting on seven occasions. 

His contract is set to expire in the summer of 2023 with Ciro Venerato stating that "Napoli have offered the central defender a new €5million a year deal until 2026".

It is meant to be seen if Koulibaly will accept the new contract offer and remain with Luciano Spalletti's side, coupled with recent allegations that the Serie A giants were putting an unreasonable price tag on him in order to keep him. 

He played the full 90 minute in their 1-1 draw at home to Roma on Monday night.

Despite being a valuable member of the Partenopei, Koulibaly may leave the Diego Maradona Stadium this summer, with Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Man City closely monitoring the situation.

Clement Lenglet, Samuel Umtiti, and Oscar Mingueza are all surplus to requirements at Camp Nou, therefore Barcelona will look to sign a centre-back in the summer transfer window. While Andreas Christensen is poised to sign a new deal with Barcelona, the Blaugrana may need to recruit additional centreback, with Koulibaly appearing as a realistic option.

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Real Madrid will also invest in a centre-back ahead of the 2022/23 season, with Nacho just being a perfect backup option at best, Koulibaly might represent a threat to Eder Militao and David Alaba.

Meanwhile, it's unclear how Koulibaly will fit into Manchester City's lineup. While Ruben Dias is unquestionably the Etihad's first-choice centre-back, Aymeric Laporte, John Stones, and Nathan Ake have all played brilliantly this season, removing Pep Guardiola's need for a centre-back.

Napoli are currently in the race for the Serie A title this season, sitting third with 67 points and five games remaining, two points behind reigning champions Inter who are second and have a game in hand, and four points behind leaders AC Milan.

Napoli are hoping to lift a first Scudetto since the second Diego Maradona-inspired triumph in 1990 (32 years ago).