Manchester United Prepared to Raid Napoli for £90m Kalidou Koulibaly
We're not even two days removed from the closure of the January transfer window, and Manchester United are already once again being linked with a move for Napoli star defender Kalidou Koulibaly.
The 28-year-old has been one of the 'go-to' names for United transfer speculation in recent seasons and was among those touted in the summer months before the club broke the bank to land Harry Maguire.
United's focus in January lay in adding goals and creativity to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side, as they landed Sporting CP midfielder Bruno Fernandes and former Watford striker Odion Ighalo.
However, United's continued defensive shortcomings have raised a concern or two of late, leading to plenty of speculation over how they could strengthen their ranks at the back when the window reopens.
Naturally, then, Koulibaly's name has once again come up. The Mirror this time run with an 'exclusive' claiming United have made him their main target ahead of the summer, and are prepared to outlay the vague 'best part of £90m' to secure his services.
The bets are of course hedged, with Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid all credited with interest. It's also said that Champions League football is likely to prove a deciding factor - something United are still in the running for, although sit six points behind fourth-placed Chelsea after drawing 0-0 with Wolves.
It should be noted that United do have a seemingly established first-choice pairing of Maguire and Victor Lindelof, with Eric Bailly having recently extended his stay at the club and the likes of Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe in reserve.
All that in mind, it seems unlikely United will spend another huge fee on a central defender (one who will turn 29 this summer) unless there are significant outgoings, and even more still that they are already planning to do so less than 48 hours removed from the closure of the January window.
French-born Koulibaly too - who has previously spoken of his strong connections with the city of Naples - may be inclined to hold out for a club who can guarantee him top-level European football and match his trophy aspirations, if he were to leave his home of six years.
Perhaps best taking this one with a grain of salt for now.
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