Barnes talks up Koulibaly January signing

Liverpool legend John Barnes believes Kalidou Koulibaly should be the only player that Jürgen Klopp should target during the January transfer window.

More than a dozen centre-backs have been linked with the Reds over the last few months, all of which were discussed on today’s KopTalk Podcast episode which includes which 2 that we think you should pay close attention to. Barnes, however, believes only Koulibaly should be considered from that list. He also believes that the player could be easily talked into making the switch from Napoli to Liverpool.

Barnes told Bonus Code Bets: “If Koulibaly comes, he’s a player that could play alongside Van Dijk when he returns.

“So it would be easy to talk Koulibaly into joining Liverpool, unlike some other top players because he’s a person that if he comes would go straight into the first team and play every match.

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“Aside from Koulibaly, I don’t think there’s anyone out there that Liverpool would look to get in January.

“If Liverpool are unable to get anyone to improve the first team, then why sign a new player?

“January is not always the best time to buy because all of the top players you want to come into your team are going to be in the Champions League still so it might be hard to convince them to come if they’re not going to be playing every week.

“If Liverpool are desperate and need somebody, they’ll get them in.

“But I don’t think Jurgen Klopp is a particular fan of buying in January, obviously, the situation determines what happens come January if they’re top and not conceding too many goals maybe they don’t need to do that.

“In January you can spend a lot of money and not necessarily improve the squad.

“Can Liverpool afford to compete without additions?

“Other teams will have players that will get injured, not just Liverpool players. If it is just Liverpool players getting injured and not Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham players then it’s going to be a factor in the title race. I don’t think Liverpool will be hit harder than anybody else.”

At 29 (30 next June), few observers will expect Liverpool to make an offer for Koulibaly because of the price tag that Napoli have slapped on him. Depending on who you believe, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is said to value the player in the region of £60million to £70million.

Manchester City have also been heavily linked, but again, the valuation has so far put them off.

More on the centre-back situation can be found within our members’ community.