Manchester United Ready To Break The Bank To Land Number One Transfer Target

Manchester United Ready To Break The Bank To Land Number One Transfer Target
14:34, 17 Nov 2018

Manchester United have set their eyes on their number one transfer target and are willing to do anything it takes to bring the man at the top of their list to Old Trafford in January. The Daily Record report that the man at the top of their wish list is unsurprisingly a central defender.

United’s defence has been leaky all season with David De Gea only keeping one clean sheet in the Premier League this season. Jose Mourinho has identified the heart of his defence as the area which needs urgent improvement as he is currently relying on the unpredictable quartet of Phil Jones, Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly.

Those four, despite two of them being Mourinho signings, have for one reason or the other not been able to form a solid foundation for a United squad packed with attacking talent. Victor Lindelof has been the man to impress over recent weeks and now Mourinho is after a top class centre-back to organise his back line and dominate in the air.

The man the club have targeted is Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly who at 27-years-old, is playing some of the best football of his career in Serie A. This may seem strange given the fact that the Senegalese defender extended his contract on the 1st September with Napoli until 2023 however that could have been an insurance move for both parties.

United will now have to pay mega-money for the 6 ft 1’ defender and potentially break the world-record set for a defender’s transfer. That of course, was for £75m when Liverpool splashed the cash on Southampton’s Virgil Van Dijk, but what a move that turned out to be. Now United are hopeful of replicating their neighbours and bringing a world-class centre-back to Old Trafford, someone who can slot right into the heart of their defence.

United do face competition for his signing, it was reported last month that Barcelona were not deterred by the £88m asking price for Koulibaly and United may have to beat that price if they are to land his signature. This could be one of the transfer battles of the winter window.

x
Suggested Searches:
The Sportsman
Manchester United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Premier League
Sportsman HQ
72-76 Cross St
Manchester M2 4JG
We will not ask you to provide any personal information when using The Sportsman website. You may see advertisement banners on the site, and if you choose to visit those websites, you will accept the terms and conditions and privacy policy applicable to those websites. The link below directs you to our Group Privacy Policy, and our Data Protection Officer can be contacted by email at: [email protected]

All original material is Copyright © 2019 by The Sportsman Communications Ltd.
Other material is copyright their respective owners.