Rare blunder as agent confirms Southampton missed out on Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly

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Southampton failed to get a deal for Kalidou Koulibaly over the line in 2015 – now the Napoli defender is arguably Europe’s most in-demand centre-half.

Southampton have a habit of spotting a rising star just before he is about to explode onto the big time. The likes of Victor Wanyama, Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Bertrand have all used The Saints as a springboard for their careers, evolving from youthful talents into some of the most sought-after players in England.

And the agent of highly-rated Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly has now confirmed that his client, one of the most impressive and in-demand centre-backs in European football, had also been spotted by Southampton back in the summer of 2015.

“Koulibaly, in (manager Maurizio) Sarri’s first year, just like two seasons ago, had the eyes of the Premier League on him,” Giuseppe Canella told Calciomercato.

“I can confirm that Southampton was the first club to make an offer to Napoli to take him to the Premier.”

Gazzetta dello Sport reported two years ago that Sarri, in his first transfer window as Napoli boss, wanted to reshape his backline and was less than impressed in Koulibaly, who had struggled since moving to Italy from Genk in 2014.

And the report added that Southampton were hoping to sign the Senegal international for £8.5 million – a snip of a fee when you consider that Napoli value Koulibaly at around £60 million these days.

Chelsea are reportedly keen to bring Koulibaly to the Premier League while talkSPORT reported that Everton’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri confirmed in 2016 that Everton were interested.

For once, Southampton appear to have dropped the ball and let one of the most impressive, in-demand players on the continent slip through their net.