Manchester United are considering a January deal for Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly that would make the Senegalese international the most expensive defender in history.
Jose Mourinho has long been in the market for a new central defender and his side's woeful defensive record this season, following a disappointing summer window, has made it clear he needs new recruits.
The Portuguese boss is said to have already had two bids rejected for Koulibaly, who impressed in Napoli's 1-0 defeat at Liverpool on Tuesday night.
According to the Evening Standard, the Red Devils are now contemplating a third bid. However, the Serie A side are said to be only willing to accept an offer in the region of £100million.
That would eclipse the £75m paid by Liverpool to Southampton for Virgil van Dijk in January and see Koulibaly become the most expensive defender of all time.
Mourinho has also considered moves for Tottenham's Toby Alderweireld, Leicester's Harry Maguire and Jerome Boateng of Bayern Munich in the past but Koulibaly appears to be his principal target.
Inter’s Milan Skriniar is another defender on the club's radar while reports suggest Mourinho is a fan of AC Milan's Alessio Romagnoli.
One thing that could work in United's favour is their progression in the Champions League while Napoli crashed out following the defeat at Anfield.
Mourinho’s focus on recruiting a new centre-back plunges the futures of the club's current defenders into doubt. It is claimed Eric Bailly and Marcos Rojo could both depart the club in January to free up funds for a new recruit.
tropicalda
232
I have seen that Koulibaly has really improved since he joined Naples ,,, it will be a good signing for man united since he has great strength and physical abilities(It is really tough for every opponent to play against him which with his 195 centimeters and 90 kg makes one of the most solid defenders in Europe) also he has the great tactical intelligence(He is able to read perfectly every situation in the game, and he is always ready to anticipate the forwards opponents and to recover to every mistake which has been made by his teammates) In a top club he will also acquire the winning attitude due to he has to compete for the most important tropheis every year and there are no excuses there, you have to win, plus he will train and play regularly with absoluteley top players where he can learn a lot from them
bett1k
169
100mil down the drain ....for me it feels like a knee jerk reaction to a leaky defense . we need a pair of defenders not one but two if one cost you 100 mil what about the other ...what about MIDFIELD .look not saying he is a bad defender but we need to profile players again sell some of the guys first then fix one at a time a doubt MOURINHO will fix defense in January even with the most expensive signing not without a good midfield
nenye
126
How can u say Eric and Rojo are most likely to leave? what happens to Jones Except Mou wants to convert Jones to a striker