Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is pushing his board to meet Napoli's asking price for Kalidou Koulibaly.

The Daily Express says Guardiola has urged club chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak to do everything it takes to sign Koulibaly. Koulibaly has been highly sought-after in the last few years by some of Europe's heaviest hitters but the centre-back's £75million valuation pose as a major obstacle.

But the Senegal international remains one of Guardiola's top transfer targets as the City manager sees him as the perfect replacement for former captain Vincent Kompany, who left the club last summer.

However, City have not been on good terms with Napoli these past two years and that could further complicate negotiations between the two parties.

The clubs' bad blood stems back to 2018 when the Citizens came close to landing Jorginho but the Partenopei ultimately sold him to Premier League rivals Chelsea.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis admits their uneasy relationship would make a future deal involving Koulibaly very difficult.

But Guardiola has pleaded with the City chairman to put aside any grudges and do his best to bring the 29-year-old defender to the Etihad.