Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti has claimed that centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly is among the best defenders he has ever coached.
Koulibaly, 27, has made a name for himself in Serie A as one of the most dominant centre-back’s in Europe.
The Senegal international has made over 130 appearances for Napoli since his arrival at the club in 2014, with club president Aurelio De Laurentiis rejecting offers from some of Europe’s top clubs for the defender in the past.
Chelsea and Manchester United are among the Premier League sides to have been linked with Koulibaly in the past and the former Genk man has been in the form of his life so far this season.
Ancelotti, who boasts an impressive CV having coached the likes of Juventus, Milan, Chelsea, PSG, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, has gone as far as saying that Koulibaly ranks among the likes of Alessandro Nesta, Sergio Ramos and Paolo Maldini as the best defenders he’s coached.
“Sure, he is among the best I have trained with the likes of Thiago Silva, Sergio Ramos, Nesta, Maldini, Cannavaro, Thuram, Terry, shall I carry on?!” Ancelotti joked with reporters.
“At the moment he is certainly among the best in the world.”
What can Napoli and Koulibaly achieve this season?
Napoli will be relatively happy with their start to the season so far, having accumulated 22 points from their opening 10 Serie A matches. They are currently placed second in their Champions League group and remain unbeaten after three games.
Perhaps their most impressive win of the season was their 1-0 victory over Liverpool, while they also managed to collect a point away to PSG. Many predicted problems for Ancelotti at Napoli this season, after replacing Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer.
His playing style is extremely different to that of Sarri, who made Napoli one of the most attractive teams to watch in Europe before leaving for Chelsea.
The Serie A side face a league clash against Empoli on Friday evening before hosting Thomas Tuchel’s PSG side in the Champions League next Tuesday.
The post Napoli boss Carlo Ancelotti ranks ‘world-class’ Kalidou Koulibaly among likes of Paolo Maldini appeared first on Squawka News.
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