Kalidou Koulibaly

YiddoTom90 · Jan 5, 2020

Thats like us trying to sign messi. No chance west ham

fishhhandaricecake · Jan 5, 2020

This guy ain’t coming to us, he’ll be far too expensive, more realistic target is Ake if Chelsea don’t take the option.

Flashspur · Jan 5, 2020

McFlash said:
An honest question... Do you really rate Koulibaly that low? Or have you just nailed your colours to the mast and so, are sticking with it?
I mean, he's certainly no Phil Jones and must surely be an upgrade on our current options.

I never said i rated him so low but at the prices being quoted and his age and after a fairly meh career in Serie A I think he is overhyped. I dont think he is second best CB world wide. There are others like Ramos, Pique, Laporte and Varane that i rate more highly. Plus a number of the up and coming CB's i mentioned earlier are not that far behind him if not catching up in overall defensive awareness, positioning, interceptions etc. I think the most attractive thing about KK is actually his passing ability if you want a plus. I think he is underrated in this area.

Serie A has been an old boys home for years. People go there to see out their careers. Fazio looks like a world beater in Italy FFS. To go from zonal marking to high intensity one on one's in the PL where attackers run the channels aggressively and switch play between forwards instantaneously is a level he hasnt played at week in week out. I think he will struggle. He has pace but not scorching pace. His recoveries can be poor and his reactions and balance not quite nimble as he is a big lumbering lad.

I dont even think he is the best CB in his own side. Manolas has impressed me more this season. Yes he is a 'beast' but he relies too much on his strength, fouls frequently as is the want in Serie A and gives away too many free kicks in dangerous positions. VAR would love him. I think a cheap KK would be a good buy. But as a hail mary desperation purchase. It has red lights all over it for me.

Jules77 · Jan 5, 2020

singis said:
I agree with your point. Skriniar diaz and upemecano are great players.the others are ok too.the best of your list are easily 50m plus players and i do not think that koulibaly will be sold at 90m as reported. But all the plsyers you listed are good and can do a job.

We’d have said the same of Sanchez at the time. The difference in my eyes is leadership and immediate impact.

McFlash · Jan 5, 2020

Flashspur said:
I never said i rated him so low but at the prices being quoted and his age and after a fairly meh career in Serie A I think he is overhyped. I dont think he is second best CB world wide. There are others like Ramos, Pique, Laporte and Varane that i rate more highly. Plus a number of the up and coming CB's i mentioned earlier are not that far behind him if not catching up in overall defensive awareness, positioning, interceptions etc. I think the most attractive thing about KK is actually his passing ability if you want a plus. I think he is underrated in this area.

Serie A has been an old boys home for years. People go there to see out their careers. Fazio looks like a world beater in Italy FFS. To go from zonal marking to high intensity one on one's in the PL where attackers run the channels aggressively and switch play between forwards instantaneously is a level he hasnt played at week in week out. I think he will struggle. He has pace but not scorching pace. His recoveries can be poor and his reactions and balance not quite nimble as he is a big lumbering lad.

I dont even think he is the best CB in his own side. Manolas has impressed me more this season. Yes he is a 'beast' but he relies too much on his strength, fouls frequently as is the want in Serie A and gives away too many free kicks in dangerous positions. VAR would love him. I think a cheap KK would be a good buy. But as a hail mary desperation purchase. It has red lights all over it for me.

I appreciate the reply and you make some very good observations too.
I agree with the concern that many of his challenges could well given as fouls in the Prem and he does seem to go to ground quite eagerly.
I honestly haven't seen enough of him to give a proper judgement, only know that he seems to be rated pretty highly by those that know more than me.
What I have seen of him, I like but I'm prepared to be swayed by the opinions of those who know more of him. And you make some good arguments.

nailsy · Jan 5, 2020

I've just noticed that his Wikipedia page mentions that he can play on either side as a full back and that he has also played as a defensive midfielder. Has anyone who watches Italian football seen him play in those positions?

spursfan77 · Jan 5, 2020

BigPlimpton said:
Napoli are facing a spell out of Europe and a team mutiny. Koulibaly and Mertens are their top marketable assets and Mertens is leaving on a free and Koulibaly’s value is going to decline rapidly as he reaches an age where a big club would no longer give him a five year deal that would justify a big transfer fee. They need to sell him and there’s no market for him at numbers like 90m. But they’ll want to do it right and get everything they can—doubt it would happen in January.

we should bung them some cash for Mertens too while we are at it. Striker/wing forward covered relatively cheaply with a quality player.

philll · Jan 5, 2020

fishhhandaricecake said:
...more realistic target is Ake if Chelsea don’t take the option.

~~That's already expired hasn't it?~~ No, they have until the end of this window.

tiger666 · Jan 5, 2020

spursfan77 said:
we should bung them some cash for Mertens too while we are at it. Striker/wing forward covered relatively cheaply with a quality player.

He's almost 33

spids · Jan 5, 2020

Phomesy said:
Thing is he plays for Argentina - so where's ho going on "loan" that would be acceptable for him? It's not the Championship - makes it difficult. Maybe a Valencia or something?

Totally agree that he shouldn't be written off - think he's a talent. Just got so many mistakes in him at this stage.

I’d be interested to see how many mistakes he makes after a run of 10 consecutive games.

spids · Jan 5, 2020

Ake is too short for a Mourinho CB. He wants big beasts!

Japhet · Jan 5, 2020

jezz said:
I wonder if Foyth got a run of games we would be pleasantly surprised.

I think Foyth (and Ndombele) have already had their cards marked for the habitual Mourinho treatment (sadly).

double0 · Jan 5, 2020

No disrespect but it’s all media hype. West Ham are now linked his agent is drumming up business . Finally Levy will not sign off such a fee for a player of his age especially with our ongoing contractual issues.

Wheeler Dealer · Jan 5, 2020

spids said:
I’d be interested to see how many mistakes he makes after a run of 10 consecutive games.

Good point. I think he is trying too hard to impress in when he gets a chance in the team. He gives you the impression that he feels he's on trial and his eagerness can become reckless at times.

WiganSpur · Jan 5, 2020

He's obviously a top defender but I can definitely understand the concerns with him being 28. Sure, we may get 4 years out of him but after that he's not gonna be worth anything. Outgoings very often determine incomings from a financial perspective. It may only serve to cripple us down the line.

Kinda seems arbitrary but I don't think we should be targeting outfield players for big fees and wages over the age of 27. Acting like a big club doesn't mean we sign these kinds of players, it means we should be prepared to spend big when there is a clear financial and footballing case. Ndombele and Lo Celso classic examples.

If we're spending north of £60m i'd much rather we went for Ruben Dias. Smart business for me in January would be Dias, Soumare and a striker in on loan.

wrd · Jan 5, 2020

double0 said:
No disrespect but it’s all media hype. West Ham are now linked his agent is drumming up business . Finally Levy will not sign off such a fee for a player of his age especially with our ongoing contractual issues.

At least wait til the end of Jan where our emotions are out of control before letting the realisation sink in you bastard.

Trix · Jan 5, 2020

WiganSpur said:
He's obviously a top defender but I can definitely understand the concerns with him being 28. Sure, we may get 4 years out of him but after that he's not gonna be worth anything. Outgoings very often determine incomings from a financial perspective. It may only serve to cripple us down the line.

Kinda seems arbitrary but I don't think we should be targeting outfield players for big fees and wages over the age of 27. Acting like a big club doesn't mean we sign these kinds of players, it means we should be prepared to spend big when there is a clear financial and footballing case. Ndombele and Lo Celso classic examples.

If we're spending north of £60m i'd much rather we went for Ruben Dias. Smart business for me in January would be Dias, Soumare and a striker in on loan.

The whole point of obtaining the infrastructure we now have is to be able to compete with the bigger spenders. It's not a bottomless pit of monet of course, but wringing every last penny out of every buy and sell, should not be the main aim any more. Sell on fees should be far less important that they were and trophies bring support and merchandising. That should be the priority now.

Ron Burgundy · Jan 5, 2020

Trix said:
The whole point of obtaining the infrastructure we now have is to be able to compete with the bigger spenders. It's not a bottomless pit of monet of course, but wringing every last penny out of every buy and sell, should not be the main aim any more. Sell on fees should be far less important that they were and trophies bring support and merchandising. That should be the priority now.

what’s the main source of income for clubs now though? TV money or gate receipts? The former, surely

fishhhandaricecake · Jan 5, 2020

philll said:
That's already expired hasn't it?

Oh really that’s great news then. We should be going all out for him.

pelayo59 · Jan 5, 2020

philll said:
That's already expired hasn't it?

It didn't.

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