De Laurentiis says Maguire worth €25m as Napoli president quotes €250m for Koulibaly

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said Manchester United signing Harry Maguire is only worth €25million as he valued star defender Kalidou Koulibaly at €250m.

United made Maguire the most expensive defender in history after reportedly paying Leicester City a world-record £80m (€86m) for the England international centre-back.

The Red Devils had been linked to Napoli’s Koulibaly at the start of the transfer window, while De Laurentiis revealed in January that the Serie A club had rejected a €105m offer from an unnamed team.

Discussing the transfer market and Maguire’s move to Old Trafford, De Laurentiis told ESPN: “The problem of the cost of players is from England because they gross the most amount of money, more than Spain, Italy, France and Germany.

“If a club grosses £800m, he has no problem to offer £80-90m for one player. There is not a real and fair competition between England and other countries.”

“Koulibaly has a release clause of €150m,” De Laurentiis added.

“In England, you know, they can spend €93m on a player that I would pay a maximum of €25-30m for. So, if Maguire costs €93m, then Koulibaly is worth €250m?”

The team showed character, personality and quality of play against Barcelona … Many thanks to our Miami Fans. #NapoliUSTour
 #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/HlKuhKma7h

— Carlo Ancelotti (@MrAncelotti) August 8, 2019

Napoli – who finished runners-up to Juventus last season – have been linked to PSV’s Hirving Lozano and Real Madrid playmaker James Rodriguez.

Lozano is reportedly close to joining Napoli, who are still trying to negotiate a deal with Madrid for James as LaLiga side Atletico Madrid circle.

“We’ve been following Lozano since last January,” De Laurentiis said. “We know very well that he can be a good buy for Napoli. We’ve also been following James and others, like the Brazilian Everton [Soares].

“What I like about Lozano is that he’s still young, unlike James who has more experience and has played under [head coach Carlo] Ancelotti twice.

“For that reason, he offers guarantees. We must consider who can help the team the most.”