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Manchester United prepared to sell their defender to sanction a deal for Koulibaly

Sudarshan Venkatesan
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Kalidou Koulibaly to Manchester United

Manchester United are prepared to sell their defender to make way for their target Kalidou Koulibaly. 

Looks like Manchester United are in a mood to regain their superiority in the league following a horrendous start to the campaign. The damage was totally done by Jose Mourinho who was not able to utilize his players properly early on in the season.

Following a humiliating defeat against arch-rivals Liverpool, the Portuguese International was shown the exit door mid-December which paved the way for the former Red Devils player Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who was spending his time at a Norwegian club named FK Molde from 2011 and won the league title thrice.

When Manchester United were playing Juventus in the Champions League which ended in a 1-0 defeat, the Interim manager pinpointed to the Interim manager Solskjaer about the problem they were facing which impressed the Welsh International. Speaking to the Sky Sports, he has said that Solskjaer has rectified that problem which has kept Manchester United ticking under him.

It has been a great start for the Norwegian who has had won all six games in six games, thereby closing the gap to fourth-placed Chelsea by six points. When Jose Mourinho left, those two teams were separated by 13 points. It has been an excellent stint but one thing is for certain, there is going to be a tough tussle for the fourth spot.

On the other end, they have been leaking goals at the back which will be forcing the Red Devils manager to act swiftly in the transfer market. The centre-back department lacks quality with the likes of Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, and Marcos Rojo at disposal.

There is an obvious shortage of world beaters at the back, and it is also possible to see a new left-back in Manchester United shirt next season.

It is understood that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is willing to cut down the quantity and go for the quality. The Red Devils have been long term admirers of Napoli Centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, but the transfer fee has been a major problem for the English outfit. Recently, Barcelona bid 120 million Euros for the Senegalese International, but it was instantly turned down.

With Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Manchester United interested on the Serie A defender, Napoli would be expecting an auction during the summer transfer window as Carlo Ancelotti has already ruled a January move.

To make it happen, the board of Manchester United are prepared to ship Marcos Rojo off who has not been in Solskjaer’s views. Other centre-backs have featured under the Norwegian, but the Argentine has not made an appearance in all competitions.

Since he has a contract up to 2021, the English outfit might seek a transfer fee between 20 and 30 million which might free up somewhat. Additionally, Marouane Fellaini is on the transfer list, and AC Milan are wanting his signature. He is valued around 15 million.

Apart from shipping off, these two, Manchester United would require another 100 million to spend from the bank to land Koulibaly. If Jose Mourinho goes back to Real Madrid, he would have no second thoughts about luring him to Santiago Bernabeu.

It will be interesting to see where Kalidou Koulibaly would end up in the summer with many European heavyweights entering the race to sign him.

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