Napoli’s president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, has opened the door to sell Kalidou Koulibaly by setting a request price of £81 m.
“Kalidou is a beautiful person and it would be sad of course to lose him,” the Napoli chief told Sky Italia. “There is a time and place for everything, even when it comes to going our separate ways.
“Having said that, we have no €90 million (£81 million) on the table and in any case it takes two to separate.”
In recent months, the Senegal international has been the subject of intense speculation, with several Premier League clubs considered to be interested.
The 29-year-old, who moved from Genk to Stadio San Paolo in 2014, still has three years left to run on his current contract.
But De Laurentiis seems to have opened the door to an exit for the first time by placing a price tag on his head, and is not going to be a cheap buy.
Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City have all been linked to the centre-back, which is considered to be one of the best in its European position.
