Man Utd target £110m Kalidou Koulibaly after Real Madrid transfer decision
Posted Sunday, April 14, 2019 by Express.co.uk
Man Utd target £110m Kalidou Koulibaly after Real Madrid transfer decision - EXCLUSIVE (Image: GETTY)
MANCHESTER UNITED will have to pay an eye-watering £110million if they want to sign Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first-choice central defender Napoli’s Kalidou Kouibaly.
The Italian side are under no pressure to sell the Senegal star and are set to refuse to lower their asking price from the £110m (€129m) written into his contract.
Solskjaer wants to strengthen his Manchester United defence this summer and Kouibaly, 27, who was a target for Premier League Chelsea last summer is at the top of his wanted list.
So he will have little choice other than to match the buy out clause if he wants to see the French born ace at Old Trafford next season.
Solskjaer was also interested in Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane but they are refusing to let him leave unless his £430m (€500m) buy out clause is met.
A deal for Kouibaly would shatter the world-record fee for a defender which is £75m that Liverpool paid Southamption for Virgil van Dijk in January 2018.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer currently has Chris Smalling, Victor Lindelof, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly and Marcos Rojo at his disposal, all of whom can play in central defence.
But the new permanent United boss has revealed a clearout is on the cards with players effectively playing for their futures in Manchester.
“I'm under no illusions that this is not going to be plain sailing,” said Solskjaer. “It's going to be hard.
“It's going to be survival of the fittest or survival of the best. That's how ruthless we have to be.
“We need players here who are going to be able to take us forward.
“That means the culture in the dressing room and what we do every single day here to make us challenge again.”
Solskjaer’s former team-mate Gary Neville is eager to see United overhaul their squad ahead of next season.
“There’s a lot of players Ole has to make a decision on,” Neville said.
“Is it a big loss if [Matteo] Darmian leaves? I don’t think it’s the end of the world.
“Is it a big loss if Antonio Valencia leaves? He’s had problems with injuries, I think United need a new right back.
“Ashley Young, he’s fine to stay there for another 12 months.
“I think [Juan] Mata and [Ander] Herrera are interesting ones in terms of how the club approach that.
“I think they will be players that are wanted by other clubs. For me it wouldn’t be the end of the world if they both left.”
United got their push for the top four back on track on Saturday by beating West Ham 2-1.
And Solskjaer will know qualifying for the Champions League will be vital for attracting the likes of Koulibaly to town.
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