We’ve seen so many players play well and even improve as they get older, but there’s no getting away from the fact that transfer values drop sharply once a player reaches the age of 30.
That can be especially true for defenders where pace can disappear and injuries can suddenly become an issue at any time, so you do have to wonder if Napoli star Kalidou Koulibaly will ever get his big-money transfer.
He’s been linked with big transfers for years yet Napoli have always stood strong on their asking price, but he will turn 30 this summer so it could become a case of “now or never” very soon.
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A report from Talksport has claimed that Man United and Liverpool are still very interested in signing him, but Napoli have confirmed they won’t sell for anything less than £100m so obviously that isn’t going to happen this month.
Both sides need to improve at the back but they’ve also shown more of a commitment to being sensible in the transfer market, so there’s zero chance that either of them would spend so much on a player who’s turning 30 and simply won’t have a resale value in a couple of years.
It does suggest that Koulibaly will need to either force a move in the summer or accept that he’ll spend his final prime years in Napoli, but the Serie A side don’t have a lot of money just now so they could still be tempted to cash in when his stock is high.
Either way, they’ll need to climb down significantly from that £100m asking price.