Koulibaly could continue renewal talks with Napoli if Barcelona do not make an offer soon

Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly is still waiting for Barcelona to come up with an offer as he continues to hold the ongoing renewal talks with the Italian side, report Gazzetta dello Sport.

Xavi’s wish to sign another centre-back despite acquiring Andreas Christensen from Chelsea is no more a secret. For that, while Koulibaly is being considered as one option, a certain Jules Kounde is thought to be another strong contender.

For the latter, Barcelona know they will have to fork out as much as €55-60 million, but any deal for Koulibaly would be rather cheaper as he ends his current Napoli contract next year.

At Naples, their priority is Koulibaly’s continuity and for that, a renewal offer of five years including an €8 million annual salary has been put on the table. So now it’s upto the player to decide.

If he does, he will be at Napoli until 35 but if not, Napoli would not entertain any offer that is less than €40 million. 

As of today, he is an option that Barcelona are considering but Kounde is someone who is given absolute priority mostly because he represents a longer future. Barcelona’s interest in the 23-year-old is so intense that they are willing to add a player as part of the makeweight. 

As for Koulibaly, he understands Napoli are desperate to retain him, but he has decided to freeze the renewal until he gets a firm answer from Barcelona. If he believes the Blaugrana aren’t being serious enough, he will resume the contract talks with Napoli.

For now, his priority is to sign for Barcelona, but the team is only seeing him as an alternative to Kounde. All this means the waiting game could go long enough that could potentially hurt Barcelona at some point.

For them, there is absolutely no rush and the message has been delivered to player’s entourage.