Liverpool are the favourites to sign Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, according to Italian journalist Fabio Santini. Speaking on his programme Il Processo (quotes via AreaNapoli.it ) on the Italian ‘Gold 7’ network yesterday, he stated the Reds were lining up an offer for the 29-year-old:

“There are many teams on the Napoli player. Koulibaly is of interest, among others, to the two Manchester teams (City and United) as well as PSG. The club that is most serious for the Senegalese is Liverpool. Warning: the Reds offer Napoli a figure between 70 and 75 million euro [63 to 68 million pounds], the sum that De Laurentiis asks. The president will therefore be satisfied.”

Following Virgil van Dijk’s ACL injury, it does look like the Italian press have put two and two together and come up with five. The Reds are highly likely to spend such a sizeable sum on a player who is 30 next year.

Manager Jurgen Klopp was adamant at his pre-match press conference yesterday that he wasn’t in the market for another centre-half. A replacement for van Dijk is, therefore, highly unlikely but that doesn’t rule out a younger defender being brought in.

There is speculation that the Premier League champions may bring forward their interest in Brighton’s Ben White or Schalke’s Ozan Kabak and may make their move in January in order to bolster their centre back options.