Manchester City could start the new Premier League season without further strengthening at centre-back as they wait for the right deal.
Defence remains a priority despite the addition of Nathan Ake for £40m, and Pep Guardiola will want a settled squad as quickly as possible as players regroup at the training ground for pre-season.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has been increasingly vocal in recent days, talking up a willingness to sell City's principal target Kalidou Koulibaly if he gets a suitable offer with the two clubs having been unable so far to come to a mutual agreement. There have also been noises that the Blues are not the only club interested in the 29-year-old defender.
De Laurentiis is a fierce negotiator - as Txiki Begiristain's pursuit of Jorginho proved two summers ago - and there is hope in Naples that City's increased need for a centre-back will see them move to close the gap in valuation sooner rather than later.
However, the desire to land Koulibaly is not expected to overrule the club approach in the transfer market to wait for the right player at the right price. City have not forgotten past experiences of dealing with Napoli and other options have been mooted as alternatives to Koulibaly, although Sevilla's sporting director recently said there have been no approaches for Diego Carlos.
With another fortnight (with two more games to play) to conduct business after their opening fixture of the 2020/21 campaign, City are prepared to ignore the rising noise around Koulibaly and use all of the window to get what they want.
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