Kalidou Koulibaly is seen as one of the best centre backs in Europe and the world; it appears he’d prefer to stay on the continent over a Premier League move.
The report from Football Italia suggests that Kalidou Koulibaly prefers specifically PSG over the Premier League; luck shines upon Paris once again it appears. Thomas Tuchel has stars up and down his squad at Paris and while rumours around Thiago Silva continue, Koulibaly could provide a high-quality defender in the middle of the backline.
As great a boon as it potentially is for PSG, it is certainly disappointing for several English clubs; Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United and even Liverpool, are among those surely frustrated in this way.
While nothing is set in stone, of course, it’s worth exploring what Koulibaly could provide for PSG; the defence has at times been an issue even with the high powered weapons they have protecting vulnerabilities.
Kalidou Koulibaly: A big presence in the middle
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While Kalidou Koulibaly is not quite as young as a team would wish, already in his later 20’s, his ability and presence remain tremendous. At Napoli he has long anchored a backline of varying skill levels, under various high-quality managers; his ability and understanding have never been in question by a single one of them.
At PSG, his ability could certainly improve the continuity in front of Keylor Navas; it could also provide a blueprint by which other younger players can train similarly as well. His grit on the backline, his positioning and athletic ability make his acquisition a no brainer from this standpoint; PSG would have superstar talent dripping from nearly every level of the shape. It is simply the price that remains in question of course.
Before COVID-19, he was believed to be a €100m man, no questions asked; what does that equate to in the current economic and global circumstance? It is not as though PSG is strapped for cash necessarily either; if his cost dropped €20m-€30m, it would be no surprise to see them pounce now that the incentive clearly exists.
But with this understanding, alongside the aforementioned report on the matter of transfers, what are the players’ options should PSG not be able, or desire to come calling for him?
PSG or bust? Is Napoli more desirable than the Premier League?
Kalidou Koulibaly has as many options as he desires to have, that much is not really up for debate; but where would he like to go if not Paris?
While Napoli is a comfortable place for him, it is not the place where he will have the best professional career moving forward; but does Koulibaly have to leave Italy for this? Of course not.
His old boss Maurizio Sarri would love to have him north at Turin, for the Old Lady; there he could flower even greater while aiding Juventus in adapting to a system that he himself is very familiar with.
While England does have some marvellous clubs who could accentuate Koulibaly, there are surely other reasons as well. Part of all of us would simply like to be able to compare and watch Virgil van Dijk and Kalidou Koulibaly in the same league, maybe even on the same team, or at the very least, playing in at least two matches against one another per year.
But in spite of this, I don’t think Kalidou Koulibaly has to leave Italy should he desire not to; Europe can be won from other nations outside of Spain, England and Germany to be certain.
If PSG can work out their finances, they offer as good a place for him Koulibaly to grow as any; being with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar is surely enviable from a football standpoint. It is little wonder why he would desire to go there if he leaves Napoli; but to be sure, other options exist. If he is not off to Paris, the sweep steaks for his services will surely intensify by the day thereafter, across Europe.