Liverpool reportedly turned down the chance to seal the transfer of Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly in the summer because he was too expensive for a player of his age.
The 29-year-old was apparently available for around €60million, but Liverpool decided against following up on their interest at that price, according to the Transfer Window Podcast.
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Koulibaly has shone at Napoli and would probably be regarded by many as the second best centre-back in the world after Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.
With Van Dijk now out injured, perhaps for the rest of the season, it looks like a big mistake from the Reds not to spend €60m on Koulibaly when they had the chance.
The Senegal international would now be a hugely important addition to Jurgen Klopp’s squad, with Joe Gomez also now on the side-lines, and with Joel Matip’s all-round fitness record not the best.
Of course, Liverpool couldn’t have known how bad things would get for them at the back, though some still might argue it was a risk not to add more depth in that position.
Dejan Lovren was a useful backup player but wasn’t replaced when he left for Zenit Saint Petersburg, and LFC will now surely be looking to strengthen at the back this winter.
It remains to be seen, however, if Koulibaly could be on their radar again or if he’d still be out of their price range.
Koulibaly is injury prone. How many passengers does the club want on its sick list