According to the latest reports, Premier League giants Manchester United are prepared to make a mega move for Napoli superstar defender Kalidou Koulibaly in the upcoming summer transfer window. The Senegalese central defender has been catching the eye of many top clubs across the European continent and it seems only a matter of time before he leaves the Stadio San Paolo. He has been wanted by west London outfit Chelsea too in recent times.
Manchester United was in quite a mess as the initial part of the start of the season when Jose Mourinho was in charge of the club. The 56-year-old manager instilled a very defensive philosophy into the club and it wasn’t something that the United faithful were used to seeing on a regular basis from their team. The dire and boring football with no conviction created a real toxic atmosphere among the fans, players, and board at Manchester United and it was only a matter of time before Mourinho got the sack. A 3-1 humiliation at the hands of fierce rivals Liverpool back in December was the final nail in the coffin for the ‘Special One’ and he was fired from the club just a few days later.
Following the Portuguese manager’s departure, United turned to a familiar face in the form of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to add some stability to the club at least until the end of the season. But since his appointment, the Norwegian has exceeded expectations and put himself in line for the job on a permanent basis. Solskjaer has now won 14 out of his first 19 games in charge of Manchester United and he has turned the fortunes at Old Trafford restoring the smiles on the fans’ faces.
Recently, United completed a stunning and historic comeback against French champions Paris Saint Germain after a 2-0 deficit in the first leg only to come back and win 3-1 at the Parc Des Princes. This result booked Manchester United’s place in the Champions League quarter-finals and Solskjaer has also got United competing for a top 4 spot as they currently sit in fifth place on the League table.
With Solskjaer almost set to lead United into the new season as well, he will now have to decide upon the players that he wants to build on his team in the near future. United are looking to bring in a solid defender that can add quality to their back line and have identified Kalidou Koulibaly as one of their main targets in the summer.
The 27-year-old centre-back is one of the best defenders in the world at the moment and has been attracting interest from several suitors like Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and even Chelsea. But United seem to be making the big and strong defender their prime target and preparing a massive bid for him in the summer.
According to the reports, Napoli will not budge for anything under £128m for Koulibaly having brought him for a mere £6.5m transfer fee from Genk back in 2014. United are now preparing that offer to convince Napoli to sell their prized asset in order to lure Koulibaly to Old Trafford.
