According to talkSPORT, Everton are interested in signing Napoli and Senegal colossus Kalidou Koulibaly this summer.
Alex Crook claimed that the Toffees will back Carlo Ancelotti during pre-season, and their interest in the 43-cap Senegal international is genuine.
Interestingly, Ancelotti has already coached Koulibaly.
The pair worked together in Naples, where the Italian had some very, very lofty words of praise for the 29-year-old.
Ancelotti went as far as comparing Koulibaly to some of football’s greats.
The 61-year-old likened his centre-back at the time to Sergio Ramos, Thiago Silva and none other than AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini – wow.
Calciomercato quote him as saying: “Koulibaly belongs in the category of Maldini, Thuram, Thiago Silva, and Sergio Ramos. He’s very clever.”
On that note, it’s no wonder Ancelotti is keen to be reunited with the former KRC Genk defender.
There’s a chance that Everton could land a real bargain here.
Crook adds that Napoli were after £89 million for Koulibaly this time last year.
However, Crook also states that the financial implications of the global pandemic should see Napoli’s asking price ‘dramatically’ reduced.
If Everton can get this over the line, it would be one of the coups of the summer.
Koulibaly is widely recognised as one of Europe’s best centre-backs, and would surely transform Everton’s backline.
He is so highly rated that Napoli’s President, Aurelio De Laurentiis, confirmed that he rejected a £95 million bid from Manchester United back in 2018 – as Goal state.
If Ancelotti pulls this one off, Everton will be a force to be reckoned with in the 2021/22 campaign.
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