NFLNBAMLBNHLWNBASoccerGolf
Featured Video
Mbappé's Rollercoaster Season 🎢
Napoli's Senegalese defender  Kalidou Koulibaly celebrates after winning the Italian Serie A football match between Parma and Napoli at the Ennio Tardini Stadium in Parma on February 24, 2019. (Photo by Isabella BONOTTO / AFP)        (Photo credit should read ISABELLA BONOTTO/AFP/Getty Images)
Napoli's Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly celebrates after winning the Italian Serie A football match between Parma and Napoli at the Ennio Tardini Stadium in Parma on February 24, 2019. (Photo by Isabella BONOTTO / AFP) (Photo credit should read ISABELLA BONOTTO/AFP/Getty Images)ISABELLA BONOTTO/Getty Images

Carlo Ancelotti: 'Big Names Will All Stay' Amid Kalidou Koulibaly, Allan Rumours

Rory MarsdenMar 28, 2019

Napoli duo Kalidou Koulibaly and Allan are both unlikely to depart the Italian club this summer after manager Carlo Ancelotti said "the big names will all stay."

Per Football Italia, both players have been linked with major European clubs like Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain recently, while Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has previously said "the time will come" when Koulibaly has to be sold.

However, Ancelotti has made it clear it will not be this summer, per La Repubblica (h/t Football Italia):

TOP NEWS

Real Madrid CF v Girona FC - LaLiga EA Sports
Real Betis V Real Madrid - Laliga Ea Sports

"I've married into the club's project and I share their vision. They're a top club in Italy and a leading light in Europe, but at the same time, they can't pay €10 million to a player. De Laurentiis always keeps the books balanced and I won't ask him to break the bank. There are other ways to win: we can prove it.

"De Laurentiis would like me here for life, but I can only give him psychophysical guarantees for a maximum of eight years. Time passes and I don't see myself turning senile in the dugout. Koulibaly won't leave and the big names will all stay because Napoli aren't forced to sell."

NAPLES, ITALY - MARCH 17:  Coach of SSC Napoli Carlo Ancelotti gestures during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Udinese at Stadio San Paolo on March 17, 2019 in Naples, Italy.  (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Napoli look well set to finish second in Serie A for the third time in four seasons in 2018-19.

They have not, however, launched any kind of title challenge this term and sit 15 points back from leaders Juventus.

Napoli did manage to get past Red Bull Salzburg in the UEFA Europa League last 16 despite a 3-1 loss in the second leg, and they are set to face Arsenal in the quarter-finals.

A player of Koulibaly's calibre, though, arguably deserves to be at a club that is fighting for league titles and in the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League rather than the Europa League.

The 27-year-old is widely considered to be one of the top centre-backs in Europe, and he also boasts a terrific range of passing:

He would improve a number of top clubs, including Manchester United, who are lacking quality in defence.

The Red Devils have earmarked the Senegal international as their "preferred choice at centre-back" after appointing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as manager on a permanent basis, per James Robson in the Evening Standard

United have the financial clout to lodge a significant bid, and if they are interested in signing Koulibaly, Ancelotti's claim that none of his big stars will leave this summer could be proved inaccurate. 

Mbappé's Rollercoaster Season 🎢

TOP NEWS

Real Madrid CF v Girona FC - LaLiga EA Sports
Real Betis V Real Madrid - Laliga Ea Sports
United States v Japan - International Friendly
FIFA World Cup 2026 Venues - New York New Jersey Stadium

TRENDING ON B/R