£90m Koulibaly ‘would thrive in England’

RAFA BENITEZ has backed his former Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly to succeed in the Premier League, with Jose Mourinho urging Manchester United to sign him as early as this January to improve their back four. Benitez bought Koulibaly from Genk in 2014 and also signed other mainstays of the current Napoli team such as Dries Mertens, Raul Albiol and Jose Callejon. Napoli are expected to ask for £90million for the centre half but Benitez said: ‘Koulibaly has all the potential to do well in England. He is quick, can use both feet and is good in the air, but the strength of Napoli is the team, they have experience in Europe and confidence in themselves. ‘They are playing well in Serie A and they can play now under (Carlo) Ancelotti with different systems.’