The door has swung open for Everton in the pursuit of Kalidou Koulibaly with Bayern Munich insisting that the Napoli defender will not be heading to the Bundesliga this summer, as stated via Alfredo Pedulla.
If you thought that reports linking the Senegal superstar with a move to Goodison Park were a thing of the past in the post-Carlo Ancelotti era, well, think again.
Koulibaly might have blossomed into arguably the best defender in European football during Ancelotti’s reign at Napoli, but it was none other than Rafa Benitez who brought the then-23-year-old to Italy in the first place, completing a bargain £6 million deal in 2014.
If anything, speculation regarding a potential switch to the blue side of Stanley Park have gone into overdrive since Benitez took Ancelotti’s place in the Goodison hot seat.
Will Benitez do what Ancelotti couldn’t and bring Koulibaly to Everton?
Calciomercato reported last week that Everton had made an opening offer for the commanding centre-half, although the Toffees will have to return with a bigger bid for a man whose price-tag has dropped from £90 million to around £45 million in the space of just 12 months.
It had been suggested that Everton would face competition from Bayern Munich, although the German giants have now made sure to remove their name from the frame.
“Koulibaly? We didn’t look for him. We bought (Dayot) Upamecano, so in defence we are full,” said sporting director Hasam Salihamidzic.
In recent years, Koulibaly has often been linked with a move to Everton’s Merseyside neighbours.
But Liverpool, like Bayern, have already splashed out on an exciting RB Leipzig prospect; the talented Ibrahima Konate.
What’s more, a Liverpool side scrimping and saving in the COVID era were never likely to pay £45 million for a man who turned 30 just a few weeks ago.
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