It’s certainly no secret that Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho doesn’t think too highly of his current centre back options. He’s even willing to give up on an acquisition, Eric Bailly, he himself made at the position in 2016. There was a ton of media coverage of United’s ambitious quest to upgrade at central defender this past summer transfer window, but in the end they failed massively in this regard.
So who is up next?
Three days ago the Daily Record’s Duncan Castles claimed that Old Trafford were after Napoli stalwart Kalidou Koulibaly. However, it looks like the punch bowl has already been taken away from this party.
United have seen their €90 million bid rejected, claim newspapers in both Italy and England. Koulibaly, a 27-year-old French born Senegalese international, has just been nominated for the BBC African Player of the Year Award. He recently signed a new deal that will keep him at the Serie A side until June 2023.
If he’s going to leave, the price tag would be well over 100 million Euro. Thus, United will need to continue the search and try to find the answer elsewhere. Perhaps it will be Tottenham Hotspur’s Toby Alderweireld or Atletico Madrid’s Diego Godin. Go here for the latest on both of these situations.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Lineups.com and Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.