Napoli eye Monaco midfielder Mamadou Coulibaly

Napoli have widened their scouting net in midfield and are targeting Mamadou Coulibaly, the 2002-born AS Monaco player. The story first appeared in England and has now been confirmed by a German source: Napoli are among the clubs interested, alongside sides from the Bundesliga and Premier League, plus Atletico Madrid.

For now these are informal enquiries, albeit confirmed ones, with no formal offer on Monaco's table. The transfer window has been closed since 1 September and does not reopen until Saturday 2 January 2027, running through to 2 February. Any concrete move is therefore still more than three months away.

Monaco see Coulibaly as central to their project and value him between €35m and €40m. The Principality club are also said to be working on a contract extension to 2030, a move that would make it harder to prise him away mid-season.

The new name emerges at a time when Napoli's midfield faces more than one question mark. The contract renewals of Lobotka and Anguissa remain stalled, and Milan have moved for Anguissa in the past few hours. Chasing a €35m-40m midfielder for January, with the department already stretched, shows how much the club consider midfield the priority for the next window.

Between a confirmed enquiry and a formal bid, though, the gap remains wide. Monaco's valuation and their wish to tie Coulibaly down until 2030 are real obstacles. The situation will be revisited when the January window opens, when it will become clear whether the interest turns into an actual move.