Senegal international defender, Kalidou Koulibaly, who has been linked with a move away from Italian Serie A side, Napoli, has expressed his pleasure that other clubs were following his progress while hinting at his decision over his future club. The Napoli defender, who has been linked with a big money move to Manchester United, may be pleased to be attracting interest from elsewhere, but says he is happy to continue his growth with the Serie A club.
The 27 year old is consistently linked with a move away from Napoli, where he arrived from Genk in 2014, with Manchester United among a host of clubs to have been linked with the defender in recent weeks as the centre-back continues to impress in Serie A. And while the Senegal international said he appreciated the interest from other clubs, he claims to still have a high level of motivation to prove himself at Napoli. “My future? I don’t know if I’m one of the strongest defenders. I always try to give my best,” Koulibaly told Rai Sport on Friday. “Since I’m here, I always try to grow with Napoli. I have a lot of motivation to go on and I want to keep doing this.”
While the defender says he’s happy to go on at Napoli, he may have also offered a hint at wanting something bigger in the future. “I am pleased that many teams follow me, but I want to demonstrate on the field that I am at the level of the greatest and I want to show it in the future,” he said. Koulibaly has made 30 appearances in all competitions for Napoli this season, with the club currently sitting second in the league table.
And Friday’s win for Juventus – Cristiano Ronaldo scored one and assisted another for Paulo Dybala in a 3-0 win over Frosinone – leaves Napoli 14 points behind the league leaders, though they can close that gap when they take on Juve’s city rival, Torino, on Sunday. The club is also alive and well in the Europa League, where they claimed a 3-1 win over Zurich in the first leg of their round of 32 clash on Thursday. Napoli will be hoping to hold onto their star centre-back, especially with the club having recently lost midfield stalwart Marek Hamsik to Chinese Super League outfit Dalian Yifang.
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