There was a ton of media coverage of Manchester United’s ambitious quest to upgrade the central defender position this past summer transfer window, but in the end they failed; and that failure was massive. However, today brought news that United could finally be getting closer to actually getting their new and better centre back acquisition.
Napoli stalwart Kalidou Koulibaly is reportedly keen on a move, but the Serie A side won’t sanction the transfer to Old Trafford until the summer.
United were opening to get the deal done this January transfer window, with Napoli having already crashed out of the Champions League.
However, according to Metro: “Napoli believe Koulibaly is instrumental to their Europa League hopes and won’t allow him to leave this month.”
And United are content to wait until the summer to make it happen on the 27-year-old Senegalese international, says ESPN. “United now believe a deal in the summer is more likely,” ESPN FC’s Rob Dawson writes adding that Inter’s Milan Skriniar, AC Milan’s Alessio Romagnoli and Leicester City’s Harry Maguire are also on the updated list of targets.
Koulibaly was linked to United in the summer, according to numerous reports and in 2016, Napoli’s president claimed that Chelsea bid 58 million Euros for him.
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.
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