Messi misery raises further questions about Koulibaly quality

There is a clear sense this summer that Italian side Napoli are pursuing a rebuild of the squad.

There are two factors dictating this, ostensibly.

First was the player mutiny back in December, when members of the team rebelled against the request of the club’s management to go into ritiro – the somewhat anachronistic sequestering away of a group of players in order to build focus and course-correct in the wake of a poor run of form.

That episode saw the club resolve to move on some of the more influential players in the dressing room.

This fed into the second factor: there was a sense that the squad had been together too long and had grown stale and/or old. A refreshing was needed.

The job Gennaro Gattuso has done smoothing things over since his appointment has gone some way toward redressing that ill-feeling, but the signings of Eljif Elmas and Victor Osimhen highlight a deliberate move to bring down the average age of the squad anyway.

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This brings the conversation around neatly to Kalidou Koulibaly, and what is a peculiar case.

The Senegal international has, for the past couple of years, been acknowledged as one of the best defenders in Europe, and has seemed a no-brainer pick-up for one of the top sides in one of the other major leagues. Despite all of that, he has remained in the south of Italy. Yet this summer, following possibly his weakest season performance-wise, is the likeliest a move away has been for the 29-year-old.

What gives?

Recent reports suggest Napoli would be willing to let him leave, as they seek to stay in the black after breaking their club transfer record. There is no shortage of interest: the two Manchester clubs, as a matter of necessity, are in need of reinforcement at the back – City more than United, granted; as are Chelsea and even Arsenal, skint as they are just now.

That’s four of the big six in the Premier League that could do with a player of his quality. However, if they had been paying attention on Saturday night, they would probably have had cause to pause and re-evaluate.

A trip to the (empty) Camp Nou and the prospect of facing Lionel Messi would be daunting for any defender in world football. There is no shame in coming out second-best to perhaps the best player to ever play the game. However, the manner of Koulibaly’s performance in Catalonia was particularly troubling.

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For all three goals on the night, he carried some degree of culpability. The third – his concession of a penalty – can be considered somewhat unfortunate, seeing as it was Messi who essentially interrupted his kicking motion.

Still, only the melting of the polar ice caps could possibly outstrip the sheer amount of time he took to wind up the clearance.

For the first, he was much too easily bowled over by the slight figure of Diego Demme, all 5ft 7in and 60-something odd kilograms of German midfielder. For the second, for all that Messi was at his bewitching best, the situation could have been contained if Koulibaly had displayed even a modicum of assertiveness during the move.

It was not simply the goals either.

An errant, ill-advised and unnecessary cross-field pass to no one put the ball out of play for a Barcelona corner early doors.

In another move, he intercepted a pass and then proceeded to storm up the field into an attacking position, only to then have to race back after a turnover had left his side exposed. Then, in the second half, his passing seemed to completely come a-cropper.

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It seemed a slow, painful devolution born, not of physical limitations, but of getting caught up in the emotional weight of the occasion. For some reason, it appeared he was keener to impress than usual, and so executed with a far greater degree of risk than was usual or warranted.

That sense of distraction has been a theme for Koulibaly all season. A late return following the disappointment of defeat at the Africa Cup of Nations final last summer saw him struggle noticeably in the first two matches of the season against Fiorentina and Juventus. Right away, he looked so much less than the impassable Titan he had been previously, but while that could be chalked up to fatigue, to what can his more recent lapses be attributed?

Everyone knows the ability Koulibaly has on his day. His technical quality under pressure, allied to his physical presence and a tenacity that has seen him accrue a highlight reel of goal-line clearances speak eloquently. However, all of that means nothing if, as was evident at the weekend, he plays the occasion rather than the opponent.

To unravel in such a dramatic fashion on the big stage immediately calls into question his big-game temperament. It might not only explain why there has been some reticence in the past, but also why, even now, his continued stay in Italy remains a distinct possibility still.