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Man Utd Target Kalidou Koulibaly Tells Napoli President He Wants to Leave

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Kalidou Koulibaly has apparently made it clear he wants to leave Napoli by telling president Aurelio De Laurentiis during a recent phone call.


​The Senegal international has admirers throughout Europe thanks to his exceptional form with the Serie A side in recent years, with Manchester United one such club monitoring his situation.

The Red Devils did splash out to sign Harry Maguire from Leicester last summer - a move which has strengthened their defence significantly despite initial mocking from rival fans over the £80m transfer fee.

While the England international has regularly partnered Swede Victor Lindelof in the centre of United's defence, Koulibaly in still consistently linked with United - however tenuous the links can appear to be.

Now, Il Mattino claim Koulibaly has made it clear he sees his future away from the club, though his conversation with De Laurentiis is thought to have gone amicably.

​Napoli will likely demand a huge fee for the centre back's services and, if such a sum is not forthcoming in the summer window, Koulibaly will stay in Italy next season. There is new-found optimism in the squad under Gennaro Gattuso following a wretched start to the campaign with now Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti.

While United's spending has not been curbed by their recent difficulty to qualify for the Champions League, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could be handed an even greater summer budget to ensure he signs his targets if they do finish in the Premier League's top four - or five. At least that's what ​the Express say.

There's no doubt that United still have the pulling power to attract some of the world's finest players, though they'll face competition for Koulibaly. Paris Saint-Germain are thought to be close on their heels for the defender, with the future of Thiago Silva still up in the air.

A figure of £85m has been bandied around as the potential sum it could take to lure Koulibaly from Stadio San Paolo. If United were to offer that fee it would be their second such central defensive signing in as many summers.

​United were ​tipped with a £90m move for Koulibaly back in February, while ​90min revealed in January that rivals ​Manchester City were ready to trigger his release clause.