Player Open To Move As Man Utd Hold Formal Transfer Talks To Sign £90m Star

The January transfer window is just around the corner and managers are working hard on possible deals or identifying targets for the summer so we’ll keep you up-to-date with the latest rumours. Today, Man Utd are linked with

Kalidou Koulibaly is open to the idea of moving to England and Manchester United have held formal talks with Napoli over the £90m-rated defender, according to the Times via the Mirror.

Jose Mourinho made no secret of his frustration after United chiefs failed to land any of his prime defensive targets in the summer but the Portuguese coach is reportedly still keen to bring in a new top class central defender this winter.

Koulibaly has been linked with a number of European heavy-weights in recent years after developing in to one of the best centre-backs in Italian football since joining Napoli from Genk in 2014 and it seems he’s on United’s radar.

The Mirror are citing a report from the Times that claims Koulibaly is on Mourinho’s wish-list and United chiefs have now made contact with Napoli to discuss a potential deal ahead of the January window.

However, the Manchester giants have been warned they will have to pay huge money to sign the Senegalese international as the newspaper says Napoli want around £90m for Koulibaly’s signature – which would make him the most expensive defender in history.

The Mirror says Koulibaly is open to the idea of moving to the Premier League and this has given United encouragement a deal could be done but it remains to be seen whether they’ll be willing to meet Napoli’s asking price.

Koulibaly only signed a new deal at the Stadio San Paolo last summer and Napoli are reluctant to let one of their key players leave so United may be forced to look at cheaper alternatives if they refuse to break the bank to sign the powerful defender.

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming weeks but Koulibaly would be a sensational signing if United could pull it off as he’s one of the most consistent centre-backs in world football right now.

He’d be a huge upgrade on the likes of Phil Jones, Victor Lindelof and Chris Smalling and I think he’d be the ideal man to solve Mourinho’s problems in defence but a deal is highly unlikely to happen in January unless Napoli lower their reported £90m demands.