Man City refuse to speak ‘directly’ to Napoli about Kalidou Koulibaly due to bitterness over Jorginho deal

Serie A side’s president revealed ‘calm’ negotiations are out of the question

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has claimed that “calm” and “normal” negotiations with Manchester City over a possible deal for Kalidou Koulibaly are out of the question, owing to the Premier League club’s bitterness over a failed move for Jorginho in 2018.

Midfielder Jorginho had been promised to Man City by the Serie A side but ended up being sold to Premier League rivals Chelsea that summer.

And as City seek to secure the services of centre-back Koulibaly from Napoli, De Laurentiis has said that conversations between the clubs have been complicated due to City’s resentment over that incident from two years ago.

“How we can have a normal and calm negotiation with Manchester City to sell Koulibaly?” the Napoli president is reported by Sky Italy as having said.

“They won’t talk directly with us because of the Jorginho deal two years ago.”

City have already signed one centre-back this summer, in the form of Nathan Ake from Bournemouth.

The Dutchman, 25, cost Pep Guardiola’s club £41million, while Senegal captain Koulibaly is expected to cost closer to £70m.

City’s summer spending has also seen them acquire Spanish forward Ferran Torres, 20, from Valencia for a fee of around £25m.