‘All day long’, ‘no chance’: Some Everton fans react to reported interest in £150m star

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Everton are reportedly planning a summer move for a player that Goodison Park head coach Carlo Ancelotti once described as the best defender in world football.

Kalidou Koulibaly, who played under Ancelotti at Napoli, is believed to be on Everton’s radar ahead of a potential reunion with the Italian, according to a report in Gazzetta Dello Sport.

The 28-year-old is a tall, quick and strong centre-back of the highest order, boasting an array of skills including aerial prowess, tackling, reading of the game, and passing.

To date, Koulibaly has made 233 appearances for Napoli since his 2014 move from Genk for a reported £6.5million (Goal.com), as well as 33 caps for Senegal, who he also captains.

“Koulibaly is the best centre-back in the world – and he has more room for improvement,” Ancelotti told The Independent when both men were still at Napoli. “He is worth £130million and he is non-transferable.”

The admiration between Koulibaly and his former Napoli coach is mutual, the former calling the latter a “great coach” and a “respectable person”, as reported by Calciomercato last November.

In terms of value, Napoli owner Aurelio de Laurentiis confirmed Koulibaly has a £150million clause but reckons he would be worth around £250million if valued in line with Harry Maguire, who cost Manchester United £85million last summer.

“He has a clause of £150million,” he told ESPN. “But, for example, in England, they paid £85 million for a player. In Napoli, I would pay £30-£35 million. With that in mind, I think Koulibaly’s value is £250million if they paid that much for that guy.

Plenty of Everton fans welcomed the report linking the Toffees with the highly-rated defender, who has also been linked with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, both Manchester clubs and Tottenham Hotspur over the past few years (Transfermarkt).

Here is some of the social media reaction: