Kalidou Koulibaly: 'We'll See' on Napoli Future Amid Manchester United Rumours

Kalidou Koulibaly refused to be drawn on whether he will leave Napoli in the summer after the Italian side were knocked out the UEFA Europa League by Arsenal on Thursday. 

The centre-back has been linked for some time with a move to Manchester United, who are in desperate need of defensive reinforcements.

Koulibaly, 27, did not rule out the possibility of a summer exit from the Stadio San Paolo. But when asked whether it is time for him to move on from Serie A, he said, per Goal's Dejan Kalinic: "Why? I grew up in this league. It's the league that made me the player I am today. To me what matters most is to finish the season well. Then we'll see. I am sorry because we wanted to go through."

Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti has insisted Koulibaly is not for sale, although he did reveal his value is €150 million (£130 million):

If United, or any other club, were to succeed in signing the Senegal international by meeting that valuation they would smash the record transfer fee paid for a defender, the £75 million Liverpool spent on Virgil van Dijk in January 2018.

Koulibaly has been a key part of the Napoli first team since he moved to the Serie A club from Genk for £6.5 million in 2014.

He is widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs playing in Italy:

United have not had a world-class centre-back unit since the peak years of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

If they are ever going to compete for the Premier League title again, they need to rebuild a solid defensive foundation.

Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Victor Lindelof has improved dramatically. He looks like he could be part of the solution, especially if paired with a player of Koulibaly's experience and calibre.

Given Koulibaly and Ancelotti's latest comments, United have some work to do to pull off the signing.

But they should be encouraged by the fact that Koulibaly has not ruled out leaving Napoli in the summer.