Ed Woodward is keen to make sure Manchester United strengthen in the summer, despite the upturn in form of the team since the arrival of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat to PSG was the interim manager’s first since he came in almost two months ago, but the Old Trafford side have been transformed since Jose Mourinho left the club.
They are now back in the top four in the Premier League and the future is certainly looking brighter than it did a few months ago. Now, attention has turned to the summer transfer window and the search for defensive reinforcements has left United fans daydreaming of who could be coming into their club.
Woodward has identified three defenders according to the The Mirror, all of which they will target at the end of the season. Number one target is still Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly as the seemingly never-ending turbulent love story between the Senegalese defender and United continues. The club could end up paying almost £100m for his services but they don’t seem quite ready to give up on him as the hunt him down like a pack of wild horses. He would be the perfect signing to strengthen the United defensive line.
Nothing even matters, not even money to the United fans who are desperate to see some defensive reinforcements come into the club. They are currently relying on Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly with Phil Jones and Chris Smalling as back-up. The next target United hope will say yes is Lucas Hernandez of Atletico Madrid. The Frenchman can play centre-back or left-back and at 23-years-old he has time to fulfill his potential.
Finally, as a cheaper option, Nikola Milenkovic is also on the shortlist. The Fiorentina man is a rising star in Serie A and would come to Manchester at a fraction of the cost of Koulibaly. The centre-back at just 21-years-old is already a mainstay of the Fiorentina side and would relish the chance to step up.
Not in their wildest dreams will United land all three of these targets but then again, they do not need to. Lucas Hernandez would be an incredibly smart signing whilst Milenkovic could be one for the future, but it seems like Koulibaly is the one that they want.
