Liverpool
Jason McAteer urges Liverpool to sign Kalidou Koulibaly in January window
Liverpool could be in the market for a centre-back this month and Jason McAteer has told Joe’s All To Play For podcast that he wants his old club to “pay over the odds” for Napoli giant Kalidou Koulibaly.
Liveprool are suffering a centre-back crisis. Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are sidelined until the end of the season while Joel Matip is also currently sidelined. Monday’s 1-0 loss to Southampton only highlighted the issue further.
Back in the summer, Liverpool were linked with a move for 29-year-old Koulibaly – but the 43-time Senegal international has remained at Napoli, where he has spent the best part of seven years and played 264 times.
As per BeSoccer, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis claimed that Koulibaly’s price tag is £81million: “€90million (£81million) has not been put on the table and that is needed for an agreement to be reached.”
Such a move would be a club-record transfer for Liverpool, eclipsing the £75million they spent on van Dijk. But McAteer has urged Liverpool to get a deal done for the ex-Genk man, and even payd “over the odds” for Koulibaly.
(Photo credit: CARLO HERMANN/AFP via Getty Images)
“The obvious one is Koulibaly, if they could bring him in alongside van Dijk,” McAteer said. “Jurgen is very loyal, he’s very passionate, it is a closed shop. This is a tough one where sentiment needs to be left at the door.
TBR’s view – Koulibaly would be a sensational Liverpool signing
But is he worth more than £80million? If the African star was 25, yes, paying that kind of figure would have been worth it. Liverpool did similar for van Dijk. But now that he is to turn 30 at the end of the season, it is a bit pricey.
If the Reds can arrange a fee for possibly £60million at most to sign Koulibaly, then that would be decent business. McAteer wants a deal and would be willing to see Liverpool pay more to get it done, but Liverpool must be shrews.
(Photo by SSC NAPOLI/Getty Images)
