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Manchester City had a bid of £55 million plus bonuses for Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly turned down by Napoli in the summer.
Koulibaly was linked with a move to the Etihad throughout the summer, but despite weeks of talks between the two clubs, City failed to come up with a price that was acceptable to the Serie A side, with Napoli president holding out for £70 million plus bonuses.
In the end they turned their attention elsewhere and signed Rúben Dias from Benfica for £62 million instead agreeing a six-year deal with him.
That does not mean that Koulibaly is no longer linked with a move ton the Premier League. He is one of the names that has been suggested as a possible replacement for Virgil van Dijk for Liverpool in the January window.
He heads a shortlist of candidates which also includes Ben White of Brighton and Antonio Rudiger of Chelsea.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.