De Laurentiis’s words hide a message: this is how City can unlock the Koulibaly case | First page

Aurelio De Laurentiis had to admit it yesterday, after weeks and weeks in which indiscretions have been relentlessly pursued: there are serious relationship problems between Napoli and Manchester City, dating back to the summer of 2018 and residing in the almost consensual passage of Jorginho on Guardiola’s court before Chelsea overtook their mentor Sarri. Problems that are influencing today at the time of negotiations for the transfer to the Premier League of blue defender Kalidou Koulibaly.

DESIRE FOR CLARITY – The player, at the center of the market buzz for a couple of summers, in recent days he has betrayed the first signs of nervousness during the withdrawal of Castel di Sangro (yesterday he was among the most acclaimed by the fans during the friendly against Teramo): back from a very difficult year in terms of performance, also due to too much uncertainty about his future, He expressed his desire to society to clarify what will become of him shortly to have his mind finally clear and projected only to his profession. The feeling is that, after 6 years at Napoli and a history of growth that has established him as one of the most popular central defenders in Europe, The desire to test himself in another league, in a tremendously competitive environment like that of Guardiola’s City, annoys him and not a little.

THE RIGHT OFFER – However, the English team must present De Laurentiis with that offer capable of making all the previous oxidations between the two clubs disappear in one go: 75 million euros plus bonus, a figure far from the 110 rejected (with regret) in the past by the president of Napoli for Koulibaly, but perfectly in line with what would be needed today to return the investments made between January (Rrahmani, Petagna, Demme, Lobotka and Politano ) and in this market window (Osimhen) and reserve a treasure to further prop up Gattuso’s team. The moment of truth could come next week, with all due respect.