In December 2019, transfer expert Ian McGarry had claimed that Manchester United have started talks with Napoli over the availability of Kalidou Koulibaly, who is rated at above £55m.
The 28-year-old is regarded among the best defenders playing in Europe but has so far been hard to prise away from the clutches of Napoli.
But Kalidou Koulibaly has advised Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis of his desire to leave the club in January following the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti, who is currently Everton’s manager.
Manchester United broke the world move record to get a defender by signing Harry Maguire out of Leicester City last summer. Maguire has had a good start to life at Old Trafford, beginning of the 21 Premier League matches for his team this year.
The venture has worked although victor Lindelof was preferred along with Maguire by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Red Devils have continued to escape goals, together with Solskjaer’s side tasting a defeat against Arsenal in the Emirates Stadium at the Premier League.
That took their tally to 25 goals conceded in the league, which will not bode well for a club that invested heavily in reinforcing the backline until the beginning of the season.
Solskjaer does have choices in defence in the form of Phil Jones Axel Tuanzebe and Marcos Rojo. But not one of them continues to be consistent when given opportunities, while Eric Bailly has just returned from long-term harm.
Therefore, it makes sense to boost their choices and Kalidou Koulibaly is a wonderful fit.
Koulibaly has established himself as among the centre-backs in Europe because of his move to Napoli out of Genk in 2014. He’s made the Serie A Team of the Year four seasons in a row and he also received the league’s Greatest Defender award because of his season.
The Senegalese will definitely bring more steel and determination to the United backline, whilst carrying their defence.
He is robust and reliable with his struggles and is a beast in the air as well. Koulibaly is a good reader of this game as he tends to be at the ideal place at the ideal time.
The Genk man possesses the capability to pick a pass at the final third of the pitch and also is exceptional on the ball. He’s a fantastic organiser of the backline, which makes him exactly the defender the side of Solskjaer is in need of and a leader.
The venture of Koulibaly and Maguire could rule the Premier League in the coming decades as both of them are now at the peak of their powers. In the movie below, one could get a glimpse of Koulibaly’s overall defending and also the qualities he could bring to Old Trafford.
