City right to keep it Koul with Napoli
THE anger was palpable when City learned they had been gazumped in their agreement to sign Jorginho two summers ago.
Privately, the Blues were scathing about Napoli owner Aurelio Di
Laurentiis, who they felt had broken his word after accepting a £44million bid – and then doing a U-turn to sell him to Chelsea for £53m.
That broken deal is now being cited by some Italian sources as the motivation behind City’s stalled pursuit of Kalidou Koulibaly during this transfer window. Di Laurentiis has dug his heels in, reported to be demanding £72m for the 29-yearold centre-back, while City will not go above their valuation of the Senegal international, thought to be around £50m.
The Blues are now focussed on other targets on their list, with Jules Kounde of Sevilla emerging as their principal aim – the Spanish club says it has already rejected a bid of around £46m for the France under21 international.
The talk in Italy is that City’s interest in Koulibaly has proved to be little more than vengeance for the fiasco surrounding Jorginho, whose agent Joao Santos had got as far as starting arrangements for a medical in Manchester when the deal collapsed.
That is not the case, although no doubt if the Koulibaly deal does not get resurrected before deadline day,
October 5, there will be a few wry smiles at the thought of thwarting Di Laurentiis, who is desperate to sell Koulibaly to help Napoli through the strictures of the pandemic lockdown.
The Blues have taken the decision to pursue other targets, including Kounde and Jose Gimenez, but there is a sense that Koulibaly’s agent Fali Ramadani will try to close the gap between Napoli and City next week in a game of brinksmanship.
But Napoli have clearly not got the message that City simply refuse to pay over the odds for players these days.
In the first few years after the takeover the Blues had a reputation for paying whatever it took – everyone knew they had plenty of money and ambition, but little else with which to attract big names.
They paid a City premium on
deals, but the plan was to draw back from that position once they were established as one of the top clubs in Europe.
The idea that Financial Fair Play rules forced them to pull in their horns is incorrect – the plan was always to reach the point where the club would be self-sustaining, by the parallel development of the playing and the commercial sides of the club.
The Blues are in that position now, but it requires a strict budget under the watchful eye of chief operating officer Omar Berrada.
City have walked away from deals for Harry Maguire, Alexis Sanchez, Riyad Mahrez and Fred in recent years because some selling clubs are still asking for a City premium.
Napoli need to realise the Blues will walk away from Koulibaly as well – it’s not just about the money but also about preserving their hard-won reputation as a club that is no longer a soft touch in the transfer market.
The Serie A club have tried to drum up opposition by getting Paris St Germain involved, but the French club has made it plain they do not have the funds to buy Koulibaly.
One unconfirmed report suggests they replied with an offer to take the centre-back on loan for a season, paying £9m, and then stump up £47m on a permanent transfer next summer!
All of which adds up to the fact City are the only club in the race, and if Di Laurentiis needs cash badly enough, he will have to drop his asking price.