Manchester United don’t want to pay any more than £72million to sign Napoli powerhouse Kalidou Koulibaly this summer, reports say. The Senegal international has long been linked with a move to Old Trafford, with speculation dating back to Jose Mourinho’s time at Old Trafford. But it appears Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is keen to pair the centre-back alongside Harry Maguire in defence.
Manchester United have seen their defence impress this season, with the club much-improved from last term in that department.
Maguire has been a big hit since his summer arrival from Leicester, with the England international succeeding Ashley Young as club captain earlier in the campaign.
Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly have also impressed, while Axel Tuanzebe caught the eye before injury cruelly struck back in January.
And Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport say that United are keen to bring Koulibaly to Old Trafford, despite the form of their centre-backs this season.
It’s claimed that they aren’t willing to pay any more than £72m for the 29-year-old, however.
Solskjaer has put young and hungry talent at the forefront of his rebuilding job at United, with all of his signings aged 26 or younger.
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Meanwhile, ESPN pundit Craig Burley recently had his say on Koulibaly’s future amid interest from both United and Liverpool.
And the Scot expressed a belief that the Red Devils’ need was greater, saying: “Look, is Koulibaly a great get for most clubs? Absolutely, fantastic centre-half.
“But you’ve got to weigh up the pros and the cons.
“He’s going to be 29 this summer, in a month or so, there’s the financial situation in terms of getting the player in and their wages, and Man United’s need is more.
“They’ve got a good centre-half in Maguire and then they’ve got a couple of other centre-halves that I’m sure they would like to get rid of, and if they could bring a player in they would.
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“Liverpool have Matip, they have Lovren and they have Joe Gomez, who is an excellent young player.
“None of them to the standard of Koulibaly but they’ve already got arguably the world’s greatest defender in Virgil van Dijk.
“So their need for another centre-half is not desperation.
“So they’ve got other places in the team they would need to look.
“I would be surprised if Liverpool went out and shelled big money on another centre-half when they can spend big money on other places in the team, for the reason that I explained.”
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