Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly is reportedly attracting interest from Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur.
It would be something if Tottenham could pull off a deal for Napoli defender, Kalidou Koulibaly, as the powerful centre-back is impressing 2006 Ballon d’Or winner Fabio Cannavaro.
Spanish outlet El Desmarque claim that Tottenham, and their new manager Jose Mourinho, are keen on firming up their defence, with Koulibaly on their radar.
Koulibaly has been bossing Serie A in recent seasons, and Italian legend, Cannavaro was so impressed that he backed him to guide Napoli to the Champions League, alongside his defensive partner, Kostas Manolas, as he described the duo as ‘exceptional’.
If Cannavaro is impressed by the central-defensive partnership of Koulibaly and Manolas, then he may be as equally as impressed if the Senegal international links up with Tottenham’s main man at the back, Toby Alderweireld.
Here are Cannavaro quotes from the summer, where he was backing Koulibaly to do the business, alongside Manolas, and ‘go all the way’ in the Champions League this season.
“The Greece international [Manolas] in a partnership with Koulibaly would be exceptional,” said Cannavaro, as quoted by Football Italia.
“They both know how to defend deep or higher up the pitch, from close quarters or when forwards run at them. They’re excellent in one-on-one situations.
“With two players like that, you can afford to commit more men in attack and create better scoring opportunities. The big clubs with centre-backs, who have these characteristics, can go all the way in the Champions League.
“I’m talking about Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool, Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane at Real Madrid, while Ajax came so close with Matthijs de Ligt.”
Napoli are in the knockout stages of the Champions League, alongside Tottenham, but the Italian club recently parted ways with their manager, Carlo Ancelotti.
That could prove to be interesting from Spurs’ perspective because with the manager gone, it can sometimes get that be easier to try and tempt a player to move.
A lot has to happen for Spurs to secure Koulibaly’s services, but if they do then it’ll seriously take the North London club to the next level, and very close to adding trophies to their cabinet.
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