MANCHESTER CITY are reportedly closing in on the signing of Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli for £63million.
And it has been claimed that the Serie A side are now desperate to land Lille centre-back Gabriel Magelhaes to replace Koulibaly.
Napoli centre-back is believed to be close to joining Manchester CityCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Napoli have had a £22m bid accepted from the Ligue 1 outfit for the Brazilian, with the player to now decide between joining them or Arsenal.
The Italian side are desperate to cash in on Koulibaly, despite the 29-year-old having three years left to run on his contract.
This is because they need to offload the Senegal international before they can press ahead with closing the deal for Gabriel.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport via CalcioNapoli24, Koulibaly’s time in Naples has come to an end after six years.
They state that a £63m fee is close to being agreed after Napoli lowered their demands.
It has been reported that an agreement could even materialise on Wednesday.
News of Koulibaly’s imminent arrival at the Etihad will be alarming for Gunners supporters as they hoped to seal a swift move for Gabriel.
Napoli are keen to sign Lille defender Gabriel Magelhaes to replace Koulibaly
But Sky Sport Italia journalist Mario Giunta has revealed that Arsenal remain in pole position to land him.
He tweeted: “Gabriel situation: Napoli have asked the player to wait a few more days to see if he can close Koulibaly at City.
“But the defender is pressing hard on Arsenal as they advance to seek a total settlement. At the moment the Gunners seem to be ahead.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
