Juventus are in pole position to take Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli after Bianconeri director Federico Cherubini met the player’s agent Fali Ramadani in Milan yesterday. Both executives reportedly had positive talks regarding a potential transfer despite Rai journalist Ciro Venerato denying that Koulibaly was the center of discussion.
As Dutch center-back Matthijs De Ligt links with suitors Chelsea and Bayern Munich strengthens every passing day, Juventus are now hot on Koulibaly’s trail to bolster their defence, having also lost Giorgio Chiellini at the end of last season.
According to reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus have a proposal of €30M ready to offer the Partenopei along with a yearly salary of €6M – rising to €6M 6.5M with bonuses – for the highly-rated Senegalese. Both Koulibaly and Napoli have so far failed to reach an agreement to extend his contract that expires in the summer of 2023.
Information via Il Mattino (via Tuttomercatoweb) indicates that the Partenopei management are preparing to ward off suitors by offering €5M net per season plus bonuses on a four-year deal – something that will be discussed with the player soon enough.
Juventus expect Chelsea and Bayern to submit official bids for Matthijs de Ligt. No agreement yet – but de Ligt is close to leaving. ??? #transfers
Meeting today for Koulibaly, not easy on player side but Juve want him – Barça was his priority. Juve, now exploring many options.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 6, 2022
As things stand, it is unlikely president Aurelio De Laurentiis will accept Juventus’ offer, with the stopper valued atleast €5-10M more. Moreover, Koulibaly himself has strong ties to the southern city, having pledged his allegiance umpteen number of times to the sky blue colors.
Koulibaly veut aller à Barcelone et ne prévoit pas de rester en Italie s'il devait quitter Naples. Chelsea intéressé. @DiMarzio ??
— Actualité – Barça (@ActualiteBarca) July 6, 2022
Our Take on Juventus Advancing for Koulibaly
Having spent eight seasons in Napoli, Koulibaly would rather move abroad than up north to Juventus. Barcelona or Chelsea seem likely destinations if he were to leave Italy, but it goes without saying he would be a priceless addition in the Bianconeri ranks. However, things still seem hazy and he might want to stay put in Napoli to end up as a legend, which is quite a possibility on the back of his 317-cap record for the club.