Newcastle United are showing interest in Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly and the Italian club's president is keen to use Liverpool to drive up the asking price, creating an auction.
Koulibaly could leave Napoli for the right price this summer, though the changed landscape of football has given rise to the possibility that the club will earn a smaller fee than they might otherwise have expected.
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool have been heavily linked with being keen on Koulibaly, who could be paired with Virgil van Dijk in the heart of the Reds' defence.
However, according to Paolo Bargiggia on Italian broadcaster Sport Mediaset, Newcastle are now also in the mix for the Senegalese centre-back.
It is claimed that Napoli supremo Aurelio De Laurentiis is keen to use Liverpool's interest to create an auction for Koulibaly.
The president has not ruled out earning €100m from Koulibaly's departure this summer.
Newcastle, who are set to be taken over by a group containing the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, could be in a position to meet De Laurentiis' demands and battle Liverpool for the player.
Koulibaly, rated as one of the best centre-backs in world football by many, has seen injury restrict him to just 15 appearances in Serie A this season.
He clocked the full 90 minutes in both Napoli's Champions League group stage meetings with Liverpool earlier this season.
