Napoli have set an £88m asking price for Kalidou Koulibaly, in an apparent effort to stave off interest from a number of Premier League clubs, including Arsenal.

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Kalidou Koulibaly (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
Kalidou Koulibaly

The Daily Star claim the club are putting such a high price on the player as a ‘hands-off’ warning to Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, who are all apparently after him. The club’s director of sport, Cristiano Giuntoli, will apparently only consider a huge offer.

The latest figure of £88m is a big increase on the £53m other outlets were reporting in the past. It could just be that the Star are making figures up for shock value, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case, given their track record.

Arsenal sent scouts to watch Koulibaly earlier this season as Napoli played RB Leipzig in the Europa League. According to reports at the time, the defender “continues to like the English club a lot”.

The club also reportedly showed an interest last summer, making an enquiry for his services. Koulibaly’s strengths are his tackling and his passing, with over a 90% pass completion rate this season. Also, at 1.95m he provides a major physical presence in defence.

We’ll see if Arsenal can convince him to join the club. In case they can’t, click ‘next’ to see the other players who should be on Sven Mislintat’s shortlist this summer.

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