Norwich City will always regret £8.7m Napoli transfer collapse | OneFootball

Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly looked nailed on for a Carrow Road move in 2015

Norwich City will regret not bringing one of the most highly rated centre backs in the modern era to Carrow Road back in 2015.

In the summer of 2015, Norwich City could have completed, potentially, one of the best pieces of business in the club's history if it hadn't been for the deal collapsing for the then-Napoli and Senegal centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly.

It was reported by ESPN in August 2015, that Koulibaly was set to join Carrow Road for a fee of £8.7m. However, a deal couldn't be struck for the then-24-year-old, who went on to have an outstanding career in Italy during his prime years.

Norwich boss at the time, Alex Neil, had a centre-back as one of his top priorities in that summer window in which Koulibaly fitted the bill. A move elsewhere looked nailed on for the French defender, who later switched his national allegiance to Senegal, due to not only the Canaries showing a keen interest, but also Southampton and Bayer Leverkusen.

Prior to being linked with a move to Norwich, Koulibaly had completed a move to Napoli the year before from Belgium side Genk, and made a quality impression in Serie A by making 37 appearances in all competitions.

His steely defensive nature, reading of the game and powerful presence mimicked the qualities of an old-school, no-nonsense centre-back, which drew attention from many clubs wanting to secure his services.

Norwich City will wish they had Kalidou Koulibaly during their Premier League days

After quickly becoming a mainstay in Maurizio Sarri's Napoli defence, Koulibaly was heavily linked with a move to Norfolk in the final week of the 2015 summer transfer window, but with little time remaining to get the deal over the line, the defender remained at Napoli until 2022 where he became one of the top centre-backs in European football.

The 2015/16 season, when Norwich tried to secure the signing of Koulibaly, was the Canaries' first season back in the top flight, having clinched promotion the season before via the play-offs, beating Middlesbrough 2-0 in the final. With Norwich struggling for points at the turn of the new year, defensive reinforcements were needed and the Senegalese defender surely would've sorted their problems.

With Russell Martin and Sebastien Bassong being Norwich City's starting centre backs, you'd like to think that Koulibaly, at that stage in his career with Serie A experience under his belt, would've been able to slot into the Canaries backline and could well have been the difference in surviving the drop that season.

The season concluded with the Canaries facing an immediate return to the Championship as they finished 19th with 34 points, only above Aston Villa with a mere 17 points. In which, the chance to sign the highly rated defender passed them by, with a move to the second tier being an unappealing venture for Koulibaly, who was attracting attention from top European clubs.

Kalidou Koulibaly went on to become one of the world's best centre-backs to Norwich City's dismay

Following the 2015 transfer saga for Koulibaly, conversations off the pitch certainly didn't affect his game on the grass as he went from strength to strength in a Napoli shirt over the course of the next seven seasons. The defender made over 25 league appearances in every one of those seasons and became a huge presence for Gli Azzurri (The Blues) in the Champions League also.

Koulibaly became a key part of Napoli’s defence and was most well known for his physical power, aerial prowess, and ball-playing abilities which made him stand out and become a fan favourite in Naples. The now-34-year-old made 317 competitive appearances for the club where he scored 14 goals, provided 17 assists, and clocked up 88 clean sheets.

After that, Koulibaly finally made a move to England but not in the direction of Carrow Road, and instead found a new home at Stamford Bridge for just one season. With the 2022/23 season being his first playing in England, he took to it like a duck to water as he played 23 times in the Premier League with Chelsea and scored two goals, including the opener against bitter London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

In terms of his list of honours, the list goes on for the centre-back who had an outstanding career in Italy, as during his seven years, he has an Italian Cup and an Italian Super Cup to show for it. But it's not just at club level where Koulibaly has shone, as he has been named as the Senegal footballer of the year in both 2017 and 2018, as well as winning the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021.

A brief spell with the Blues led him to the Saudi Pro League, where Koulibaly has been ever since. Now in his third season with Al-Hilal, he has been a regular 90-minute man playing alongside the likes of well-renowned players such as Ruben Neves and Theo Hernandez.

Ultimately, Norwich City will always regret not getting the signing of Kalidou Koulibaly over the line because of what he's gone onto achieve in his long-standing career. The Canaries will wonder what could have been, as had they struck a deal for the man from Senegal, then Norwich could have certainly had a longer stay in the Premier League.