According to the Manchester Evening News, City may be counting on some help from cross-town rivals Manchester United to aid their possible recruitment of Kalidou Koulibaly this summer.
The Red Devils have also been heavily linked with the Napoli stalwart, but an approach from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side is unlikely, as per the MEN.
Despite this, until United either sign another centre-back or officially rule out Koulibaly as an option, Napoli will be able to stick firmly to their valuation – which is £81m, as per the Metro.
City’s own recent transfer stances will not help their case in bringing down the Senegalese defender’s price-tag, as they’ve signed Nathan Ake for £40m and value promising talent Eric Garcia at £30m.
To make matters even more difficult for Pep Guardiola’s side, they’ve previously lost out at an auction for a Napoli star when Jorginho was snatched by Chelsea despite their advances.
It’s clear to the entire football world that the Citizens need to bolster in central defence especially if they’re to mount a better challenge for the title to rivals Liverpool next season.
The MEN do claim that Solskjaer is an admirer of Koulibaly, but City are relying on their rivals to go cold on the centre-back in order to boost their chances of recruiting the star for a suitable fee.
Koulibaly struggled against Barcelona as Napoli crashed out of the Champions League with defeat on Saturday night, leading to former Citizen Micah Richards questioning the ace’s ability – and value.
Koulibaly has been on the world’s better centre-backs over the last couple of years, but this season has proved difficult for the ace due to a couple of injury troubles and now a shaky performance against Barcelona.