Barcelona Eyeing Up One Of The Best Defenders In Europe

Southampton's Virgil van Dijk isn't the only defender on Barcelona's transfer wishlist.

Ernesto Valverde continues to eye up more defensive recruitment as he plans to bolster his back line.

The Catalans are reportedly interested in van Dijk after sending scouts to the Netherlands' World Cup qualifiers, last week.

_{van dijk in action during international duty. Image: PA}

While he stayed at St. Mary's during the summer transfer window, the 26-year-old remains heavily linked with a big-money move away.

As well as van Dijk, it appears Barcelona are also tracking Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo via Daily Mail.

_{Koulibaly in action for Napoli. Image: PA}

Koulibaly is viewed as one of Valverde's priority transfers with a potential Janaury bid in the works.

Barcelona scouted the sought after Serie A defender over the weekend where he kept a clean sheet against AS Roma in the league.

_{Napoli kept up their impressive form with a 1-0 win at AS Roma. Images: PA}

The Senegalese international has starred for Napoli this season with the club incredibly winning their opening eight games as they sit at the top of the Serie A.

And it's not the first time he's attracting interest. Chelsea expressed a keen desire to sign him during the summer with Antonio Conte a huge admirer.

_{Will Koulibaly swap the Serie A for the La Liga? Image: PA}

Though the defending Premier League champions now face stiff competition for his services with Barcelona ready to hijack the Chelsea target.

Koulibaly, 26, began his professional career in France's second tier with Metz. But he secured a switch to Racing Genk before moving to Napoli.

He's been an ever present since heading to Italy, while further enhancing his reputation as a world class defender.

Koulibaly to Barcelona? Watch this space.

Topics: Barcelona

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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