Was Kalidou Koulibaly's Barcelona performance cause for concern?

Although the transfer saga surrounding Kalidou Koulibaly and Manchester City rumbles on, in Napoli’s biggest match of the season, the 29-year old defender did not look like a £85 million player.

Manchester City have made no secret about their interest in bringing in a ready-made world class central defender this summer. Kalidou Koulibaly has been the name at the center of discussion for nearly the entirety of the season, but with Napoli driving a hard bargain, City must be completely sure they are getting the player they will pay so much for.

For some City fans, Napoli’s second leg tie against Barcelona was perhaps the first opportunity they received to watch their potential record signing in action, and it was a shaky performance to say the least. Although Barcelona have the world’s best player in Lionel Messi, they are a far cry from their former dominant selves, and Napoli had a real chance at progression. Even if they did not go through, City fans would have hoped for an encouraging performance from Koulibaly, who must be mistake-free and solid at the back to take the team to the next level.

Unfortunately, his match at the Camp Nou was anything but, as he went down very easily after feeling contact from his own teammate, leading to a free header and goal from Clément Lenglet in the first 10 minutes. Later in the match, he was caught in possession by Messi and subsequently gave away a penalty. While it is just one match against the best player in the world, it does remain a dent in the confidence of City that they will receive a player who can make a Virgil Van Dijk-esque influence on the backline.

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Koulibaly is not a young player, and his sole purpose will be to come in and hit the ground running. City want to form one of football’s most solid defenses next to Aymeric Laporte, and Koulibaly does seem the ideal partner. However, the downside of spending such money on an experienced player is that they will be expected to come in and deliver on that promise from the very beginning, and if Koulibaly is not up to the task, it will be a huge blow for City.

Nevertheless, given the available options, I still believe Koulibaly is the best choice for City. It is unfair to judge a player simply off of one performance, and his track record shows him to be one of the very best. No other player that City can sign at the moment has his pedigree and potential fit for Pep Guardiola’s system, and I therefore remain confident that City will get a deal over the line and that it will help the team.

Was Kalidou Koulibaly’s Barcelona performance cause for concern?

By J.C. Gonzalez | Aug 11, 2020

Although the transfer saga surrounding Kalidou Koulibaly and Manchester City rumbles on, in Napoli’s biggest match of the season, the 29-year old defender did not look like a £85 million player.

More from Man City Editorials