Xavi wants to sign 30-year-old defender who impressed against Barcelona recently - Reports

Barcelona head coach Xavi wants to sign Napoli ace Kalidou Koulibaly, as revealed by Catalunya Radio journalist Ricard Torquemada.

The Senegalese centre-back impressed in the first leg of Napoli's Europa League knockout playoffs at the Camp Nou last week. However, he was largely subdued in their 4-2 defeat at home last night.

Nevertheless, Koulibaly's performances have caught Xavi's attention, who's now keen to bring him to the Camp Nou. Barcelona are rumoured to rope in new central defenders this summer, with Chelsea duo Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen both linked.

Their contracts with the Premier League giants expire in June. With negotiations regarding an extension currently at an impasse, they could arrive on a free transfer this summer.

Koulibaly, though, still has over a year left on his contract with the Partenopei, and the Blaugrana may only be able to sign him if a reasonable deal is reached. Interestingly, Barcelona's their top priority for the summer is Borussia Dortmund ace Erling Haaland, who'd come for no less than €100 million.

The cash-strapped Blaugrana are looking to focus all their efforts on raising the capital required to bring in quality reinforcement. Last week, before Napoli hosted Barcelona for the first leg of the playoffs leg, La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that the latter already have Koulibaly on their radar.

However, they will have to fork out a huge sum for his services. Last year, the Serie A giants rejected €70 million offers from PSG and Manchester City, so the Blaugrana will have to convince Napoli to lower their asking price for Koulibaly to stand a chance of snapping up the player.

Since joining from Genk for a mere £6.5 million in 2014, Koulibaly has grown by leaps and bounds. He has now established himself among the best centre-backs of his generation.

He has made 306 appearances for Napoli so far, winning two titles, while also contributing 30 goals. Recently, the 30-year-old won the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal.

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Barcelona should invest in younger players

As attractive as Koulibaly seems, Barcelona should look to invest in younger players like Christensen. The Blaugrana currently have nine players above 30.

One important reason for their implosion was having too many players on the wrong side of 30 before they started clearing them out to blood young stars. As the club makes strides in their rebuilding efforts, it only makes sense to keep faith in up-and-coming talents, whom Xavi himself have said to be the future of the club.