Napoli are reportedly close to signing Leo Östigard from Brighton for €4m, while Barcelona could make an offer for Kalidou Koulibaly next week.
The Senegal international refused to commit his future to the Partenopei, saying that he still doesn’t know where he will play next season. Barcelona are reportedly leading the race to secure his services, despite the interest from Chelsea and PSG.
According to Il Corriere dello Sport, the Senegal international has refused Napoli’s contract extension offer. His current deal runs out in 2023, so Napoli would need to sell him in the summer to avoid seeing him leave as a free agent in one year.
Barcelona are facing financial issues and have yet to announce the signing of Franck Kessié and Andreas Christensen, who have agreed to move to the Nou Camp at the end of their contracts with Milan and Chelsea.
Thursday could be a decisive day for Barcelona, as announced by president Joan Laporta on Saturday.
#Napoli, il piano del #Barcellona per #Koulibaly https://t.co/n4pk22dObt
— Corriere dello Sport (@CorSport) June 12, 2022
“We’re working to turn Barcelona’s finances around,” he said as quoted by Marca.
“If, next Thursday, members approve [our proposals], we’ll have good news and we’ll clean up our finances sooner than expected.
“Amongst other things, we’ll be able to strengthen the professional teams and regain a degree of normality. The club was in a critical condition.”
According to Il Corriere dello Sport, Barcelona could make their opening offer for Koulibaly next week if they solve their financial issues. Napoli’s asking price is in the region of €40m.
In the meantime, the Partenopei are close to signing Östigard from Brighton. According to Calciomercato.com’s Daniele Longo, the ex-Genoa loanee is close to joining the Partenopei for €4m.
The 22-year-old played 14 games while on loan at the Stadio Ferraris in the second part of 2021-22.
🚨 #Napoli, #Ostigard a un passo: 4 milioni al @OfficialBHAFC @cmdotcom
— Daniele Longo (@86_longo) June 12, 2022
I guess the prestige that comes with the Captain’s armband isn’t sufficient if you are not offered what the entire soccer world knows you are worth.
Can anyone out there clue me in on why ADL’s main concern right now is lowering the payroll? Did a couple of his films flop, or what? Could have happened, I suppose, because of the pandemic.
They lost money like every other club during the pandemic but they qualified for Champs League. If there’s one player who deserves the money it’s Kouli. He’d stay on the same money because he loves Napoli. ADL wants to cut his wages by 2m which is forcing him out. Did his performance drop to justify the lower pay? Hell no! He deserves a raise. They lost the games that lost them the Scudetto when he wasn’t in the side.
Great news coming…..
Pls Barcelona’s board members should agree and I know they will. We need them (Lewandoski , Raphina , Di Maria , Koulibaly, Frank Kessie, Christene and Dodo or anyother defender)
Pls they should be fast cuz we don’t have much time on our side.