Man Utd offer £63m for Serie A star, bid could be accepted as club needs to sell

Manchester United have offered to pay £63m for Kalidou Koulibaly and Napoli may be forced to accept as they look to balance the books this summer, according to Gazzetta.it.

Koulibaly has forged a reputation as one of the best centre-backs in European football since joining Napoli in 2014 with the powerful defender putting in a string of dominating performances over the past few years.

The 29-year-old has regularly been linked with a big-money move to England with Manchester United linked with the player on numerous occasions but he’s always ended up staying in Naples.

However, this summer could be different as Gazzetta claims Napoli need to offload some of their key men to help balance the books after spending around €180m on a number of new signings in recent months.

The Italian publication says Manchester United remain in the hunt to sign Koulibaly and have offered to pay £63m [€70m] for his signature – which is below the £90m [€100m] Aurelio De Laurentiis has been demanding.

However, even if United refuse to up their offer, Gazzetta claims that the Napoli president will eventually be forced to accept their bid as the Italians aren’t in a position to refuse £63m due to their need to raise cash this summer.

The report says Koulibaly ‘will move to England’ in the end as Napoli have decided to cash-in and it appears Manchester United are willing to pay a healthy sum to finally get their hands on the Senegalese international.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to be busy in market this summer as he looks to build a squad capable of competing with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City next season and it looks like the Norwegian coach is looking to strengthen his defence.

United have been linked with a number of centre-back’s in recent weeks and is seems Koulibaly has once again been identified as a key target. The Serie A star would likely oust Victor Lindelof and partner Harry Maguire next season if he does move to Old Trafford.

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming weeks but Koulibaly would be a hugely exciting signing for Manchester United if they are able to get a deal agreed this summer.