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Huge twist in the Kalidou Koulibaly to Liverpool transfer saga

By Russell Hughes

Liverpool, Kalidou Koulibaly (Photo by Matteo Ciambelli/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Liverpool, Kalidou Koulibaly (Photo by Matteo Ciambelli/DeFodi Images via Getty Images) /
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There’s been a twist in the Kalidou Koulibaly to Liverpool saga.

The Express has reported that there could be a chain reaction that leads to the Senegal international joining the Reds.

According to Jack Otway, Liverpool could use the money from any sale of Joel Matip to PSG to fund a move for Napoli star Kalidou Koulibaly.

Kick442 reporter Angu Lesley originally broke the story, and he appeared on a podcast called The Football Terrace to explain the transfer rumour.

Lesely said that Napoli need to sell some players after bringing in forward Victor Osimhen for a massive €60 million fee. There surely is a need to need to raise some funds after that deal, and Koulibaly would be the key to that.

"“Over four weeks ago we did a story on Victor Osimhen moving to Napoli as a near certainty.“I think one thing is for sure. With the expenses of Napoli, bringing Osimhen to Naples, they must cash in this summer to balance the books.”"

But Liverpool need to do the same, too. Sporting director Michael Edwards could leverage PSG’s interest in Joel Matip to raise the funds required to spend big on Koulibaly and really kick start title ambitions.

If Jurgen Klopp managed to sign the Napoli defender, would they then risk the rest of the season without a fourth choice? He’d expect to come in as a partner for Virgil van Dijk, which would demote Joe Gomez to reserve.

They could then use Sepp van den Berg, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson or Ki-Jana Hoever as back up and wouldn’t have to spend to replace Dejan Lovren – although there are plenty of players who’ve been linked.

Real Betis defender Aissa Mandi has been linked with a £10.8 million move to Anfield and he would fit the profile in terms of age, experience and price.

The logistics of the deal to bring Kalidou Koulibaly would make sense, and in terms of an upgrade it would be one. The wages for the Senegal international could prove to be too prohibitive though, and Liverpool would need to make sure PSG paid enough for Joel Matip in the first place.

Next. Four losses that define Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool era so far. dark

There’s a lot of moving parts to this one, keep an eye on it.