Kalidou Koulibaly is one of the world’s best central defenders and he’s proved that much at Napoli over the past few seasons.
He’s immensely physical and leads his team’s backline well – rarely beaten in the air and not afraid of a crunching tackle.
But Liverpool simply have no need for him, despite the occasional links to his services.
Craig Burley, former player turned pundit, agrees.
“Is Koulibaly a great get for most clubs? Absolutely, he is a fantastic centre-half,” Burley told ESPN FC, cited in the Echo.
“You have to weigh up the pros and cons. He is going to be 29 this summer. There is a financial situation in terms of transfer fee and wages. Man United need him more.
“They’ve got a good centre-half in Maguire and then a couple of centre-halves I’m sure they’d like to get rid off. Liverpool have Matip, Lovren and Gomez, who is a good young player.
“None of them are at the standard of Koulibaly but they’ve already got one of the world’s greatest centre-half in Virgil van Dijk. Their need for a centre-half is not desperate. They’ve got other positions to improve.
“I’d be surprised if they go out and shell big money on another centre-half when they can spend that money on other positions in the team.”
Anyone wanting Koulibaly at Anfield is firstly forgetting how good Gomez is already and secondly underestimating his potential to develop into one of the world’s best himself.
On top of that Joel Matip is a Champions League winning defender in his prime years who’s just signed a lengthy contract extension.
Spending £60m-odd on Koulibaly is simply something the club will not do, especially given his age.
We’d like Lovren to depart at the end of this season, so wouldn’t mind seeing a youngster arrive to provide backup in the cup competitions – but there’s no need for a readymade centre-back who’ll drain the transfer budget.