Micah Richards compares Man City target Kalidou Koulibaly to Eliaquim Mangala

Former defender Micah Richards has compared Napoli star Kalidou Koulibaly to Manchester City flop Eliaquim Mangala.

Having impressed for the Italian giants for a number of years, centre-back Koulibaly is allegedly valued at £81m.

However, the Senegal international was powerless to stop the Serie A outfit from succumbing to Barcelona in the Champions League last 16 on Saturday night.

Despite City being heavily linked with an approach for the centre-back, Richards has urged caution, insisting that the highly-regarded 29-year-old showed similarities to previous expensive failure Mangala.

Speaking to CBS Sports, Richards said: "I think his price tag is £20m less. Everyone talks about how he is supposed to be composed on the ball, he's aggressive but I see similarities to Mangala.

"He went to City and it didn't really work out for him there so I'm not totally convinced after that performance."

After City spent £32m on his signature in 2014, Mangala eventually left on a free transfer five years later after making just 79 appearances in all competitions.