Barcelona join Man Utd in £132m transfer race for Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly as scouts swarm to Italy
BARCELONA are going up against Manchester United in the race to sign £132million-rated Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly.
The Nou Camp side sent club director Eric Abidal to watch the 28-year-old in action last weekend, according to .
Senegal centre-back Koulibaly - who kept a clean sheet in the 2-0 Champions League win against Liverpool - played all 90 minutes of the 4-1 away win over Lecce.
And Barca chiefs are said to be desperate to bring him in because they see him as the heir to Gerard Pique, whose contract expires in summer 2022.
However, his whopping release clause could prove a stumbling block - with United as well.
The Red Devils bought well in the summer with the £80m purchase of England defender Harry Maguire.
And Victor Lindelof - who was slammed by ex-boss Jose Mourinho - has just penned a new five-year deal.
But with talks with Paul Pogba only just opening over a new deal, a central midfielder appears more United's priority than a new centre-back.
Barcelona could be looking to do quite a bit of business with Carlo Ancelotti's Napoli.
Abidal was reportedly in Lecce to take a look at star midfielder Fabian Ruiz as well.
Latest Man Utd news
The 23-year-old has popped up on the radars of a host of European giants including Real Madrid and Liverpool after a breakout year in Italy last season.
The Spanish No8 has been instrumental in much of Carlo Ancelotti's side's success recently - including the 2-0 win over Liverpool last week.
He then scored his first Serie A goal of the season against Lecce as Napoli made it three straight wins in all competitions.