La Liga heavyweights Barcelona are reportedly closely monitoring the progress of Mamadou Coulibaly, a target for Manchester City and Tottenham.
According to a report by Spanish publication SPORT, Mamadou Coulibaly is the subject of interest from Barcelona. The 17-year-old AS Monaco wonderkid is also a target for Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, with several clubs in Italy keen on signing him in the summer transfer window as well.
Mamadou Coulibaly is widely regarded as one of the best prospects in France, having gone from strength to strength since joining AS Monaco. A technically proficient player, the teenage prodigy is capable of playing as a holding midfielder and a box-to-box midfielder.
While the 17-year-old has yet to break into the AS Monaco first-team setup, he has shown enough quality in age-group football in France to attract some of the most high profile clubs across Europe. Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have already been heavily linked with Coulibaly, with Barcelona joining the two Premier League heavyweights in his pursuit.
The French wonderkid will likely slot in at Barcelona B if he joins the Catalan club in the summer transfer window. But with Sergio Busquets approaching the final phase of his career, Coulibaly could be fast-tracked into the Barcelona first team, especially with Xavi Hernandez overseeing a youth revolution at Camp Nou.
As for Manchester City, with Fernandinho in the twilight of his career, the need to sign a central midfielder who can be a long-term solution has increased. Coulibaly could learn the ropes from Rodri before taking over as the first-choice holding midfielder in the years to come. Alternatively, he could also be Ilkay Gundogan’s successor, with the German international on the wrong side of 30.
Meanwhile, Tottenham could overhaul their squad in the summer transfer window, as Antonio Conte looks to remodel his squad to challenge on all fronts next season. While the Italian tactician is usually opposed to integrating too many young players in his squad, Coulibaly could be Tanguy Ndombele’s long-term replacement, especially if Ndombele rejoins Lyon permanently in the summer.
Despite Barcelona’s entry into the picture to battle Manchester City and Tottenham, AC Milan will be the club to beat in the race to sign Coulibaly. The 17-year-old is also a target for Juventus, but he is closer to joining the Rossoneri than any other club as things stand.
