Zidane set to pursue Koulibaly should Varane leave Madrid
Zidane is a admirer of the 27-year-old defender who currently earns a salary of €7M per season with Napoli currently disinclined to sell the player.
Real Madrid are looking at alternatives should Raphael Varane decide to leave the Concha Espina outfit this summer with Zinedine Zidane singling out Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly as an ideal replacement for the French player.
French born Koulibaly has been capped on 31 occasions by Senegal with Zizou being a long time admirer of the 27-year-old tipping off his Real Madrid scouts to the player's talent in his previous spell at the club. Koulibaly joined Napoli in 2014 moving from Belgian side Genk for a fee of €8M and has blossomed at the Serie A outfit being widely considered as one of the best defenders in the league with Juventus and Manchester United also rumoured to be interested in his services, who according to specialist outlet Transfermarkt has a current value of €70M.
Koulibaly's current deal with Napoli expires in 2023 and the player's present salary amounts to seven million euro per campaign with the Neapolitan club astutely adding a release clause of 150 million euro enabling his release as of 2020.
Napoli resistance...
Current Napoli boss Ancelotti has publicly stated that the player will not be sold: "He's going nowhere" was the curt reply following a question relating the defender to a potential move to Juve.
Any hypothetical move at this point does depend on Raphael Varane. Zidane is anxious for the French international to remain at the Bernabéu but should the Lille born player elect to depart, then Zidane's number one replacement is Kalidou Koulibaly...