Player keen on move as Man Utd look to strike deal to sign 27-year-old star

The January transfer window is closed but managers are still looking ahead to the summer so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip from around the globe. Today, Man Utd are linked with Kalidou Koulibaly…

Manchester United hope to finally agree a deal with Napoli to sign Kalidou Koulibaly with the centre-back keen on a move to England this summer, according to the Evening Standard.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the front-runner to become the permanent United boss after turning their season around since arriving as caretaker manager in December and he’s already planning ahead for the summer window.

The Manchester giants are set to target a new centre-back to partner the resurgent Victor Lindelof – who’s become a key figure under Solskjaer – after missing out on a number of top class defenders over the past 12 months.

Koulibaly has been strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford and the Evening Standard claims Man Utd are set to renew their attempts to sign the defender after seeing two previous offers rejected by Napoli this winter.

The newspaper says United bosses hope the Italians will be more open to agreeing a deal in the summer and Koulibaly is reportedly keen on the idea of moving to England after being on the receiving end of racial abuse in Italy.

The Evening Standard says that Harry Maguire, Milan Skriniar, Raphael Varane, Alessio Romagnoli and Toby Alderweireld are all alternative targets for United but Koulibaly is the most likely option for the Red Devils.

The Senegalese international has developed in to one of the best centre-backs in world football in recent years having impressed in Italy since joining Napoli from Genk in the summer of 2014.

The 27-year-old is fast, powerful and has excellent positional skills so he’d be a huge upgrade on the likes of Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo if United were able to finally get a deal agreed at the end of the season.

READ MORE –> Man Utd transfer news

This is going to be an important summer at Old Trafford as they look to get the club back where they belong challenging for major trophies and Koulibaly would be a superb start to their transfer dealings.