Skip to content

Koulibaly: Premier League move would 'make me happy'

REUTERS/Osman Orsal

Premier League sides interested in Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly have perked their collective ears after the sturdy centre-back conceded that he would like to test himself in England's top flight.

In Barnet, north London with Senegal for a friendly against Nigeria Thursday night, Koulibaly had plenty of good things to say about the capital.

"It’s my first time in London, it was amazing, there is too much people who like the African teams," Koulibaly told TalkSport.

"I cannot talk about it, but it would make me happy to come to play here - but now I have to go to Napoli," the 25-year-old French-born defender added.

Koulibaly's remarks are just the latest wrinkle in one of Europe's most forthright transfer tug of wars.

With Chelsea long-enamoured by Koulibaly's no-nonsense brand of football, the Blues have been linked with the Senegalese international for more than a year. Considering recent comments from the player's agent, Bruno Satin, concerning mercurial Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis, it's impossible to gauge what the future holds for Koulibaly.

"With a President (Aurelio De Laurentiis) like that, declaring certain things, it’s difficult for us to say 100 percent that we’ll stay next year," Satin admitted, courtesy of the Evening Standard.

De Laurentiis hasn't exactly helped his own cause either, after Chelsea's protracted advances with a club-record £58-million bid for Koulibaly last summer scuppered Napoli's marketing plans, the owner said, "He created damages worth millions of euros, and I have specialists studying the issue now. ... If we discovered that Chelsea were behind this, we could sue them for damages too."

Napoli then penned Koulibaly to an extension through 2021, meaning any club who fancies the player's services will have to break the piggy bank.

Still, the Metz academy product doesn't exactly sound set on playing in Serie A next year, saying, "Yeah, but this is the future, you never know. Now I know I’m concentrated on my club, and we will see what next season I have to do.

"I think I will stay in Napoli, but you never know, we can’t talk about it now, we will see."

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox