[ad_pod ]According to Gazzetta Dello Sport journalist Nicolo Schira, Manchester United have had a huge £95m bid rejected by Napoli for centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly.
What’s the word, then?
Well, the Red Devils recently identified the Senegalese international as their No.1 transfer target for the summer, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer desperately looks to add a commanding centre-back to his ranks.
United were aware they’d have to smash the world-record fee for a defender in order to land Koulibaly after Napoli boss Carlo Ancelotti said: “He is worth€150m and he is not available for transfer.
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“Koulibaly’s contract expires in 2023, in 2021 there’s a €150m clause but Napoli do not need to sell, the president [Aurelio De Laurentiis] does not want to sell and the question doesn’t come up.”
The £75m spent by Liverpool on Virgil van Dijk is the current record for a defender, and the Red Devils would seemingly need to shatter that if they want to land the 27-year-old.
United must go all out
Even if he is the only player they sign this summer, United have to go all out in their pursuit of the former Genk man.
We’ve witnessed first hand just how impacting a dominant centre-back can be on the whole team through van Dijk’s arrival at Anfield, where the Dutchman completely transformed the Reds from a previously shaky team into a formidable outfit; he is a leading factor behind their back-to-back Champions League final appearances.
United have done a lot of things wrong in years gone by, but perhaps their biggest error was not starting their rebuild from the back and then moving forward; marquee signings such as Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez have been made, but they have had to play ahead of players such as Ashley Young, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo.
If Koulibaly does arrive, we could see a solid defensive foundation return to Old Trafford, and in turn a more confident attacking force due to the added security that would be injected in the team.
If he truly is their No.1 target, then United must do everything they can to land him.