Manchester United have been done a big blow as they chase to sign Senegalese and Napoli centre-back after they were told by the club that they will not be signing Kalidou Koulibaly this summer even for a whopping £130million.
The Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has prioritised strengthening his defence this summer which is one of the leaky sides of his squad, with the Norwegian keen on landing a dominant partner for Victor Lindelof who seems to be the only reliable player with a long future in the club.
Do you think Jones or Smalling are ever reading a situation like this. Ffs.
Kalidou Koulibaly👏 pic.twitter.com/D8rjCuBIqZ— Abdul (@Abdulghaleiw) May 19, 2019
The manager has witnessed the transformative effect Virgil van Dijk has had on Liverpool and believes that Napoli star Koulibaly could have a similar influence if he could land at United which is the same as his fellow teammate, Rio Ferdinand had during his stay at the club.
And despite a lack of Champions League football being on offer at United next term, he had been hoping to persuade the man-mountain dubbed ‘K2’ to join his side during the summer transfer window.
Reports in Italy on Monday had it that United have had a £95million offer for the 27-year-old rebuffed by the Serie A runners-up but that figure comes nowhere near the £130million release clause contained within Koulibaly’s contract which only comes into play next summer.
Napoli’s outspoken owner Aurelio de Laurentiis has no intention of parting ways with the former Metz and Genk star before then who is widely considered to be one of the best centre-backs in the world.
And with boss Carlo Ancelotti desperate to challenge Juventus for the Scudetto next season, De Laurentiis is insisting that he won’t be sold.
👀 @en_sscnapoli have rejected an offer from @ManUtd for Kalidou Koulibaly, which would have made him the most expensive centre-back in history! 💸pic.twitter.com/hBfhmIIOdY
— The Offside Rule (@OffsideRulePod) May 20, 2019
The decision of Max Allegri to leave Turin this summer has given renewed hope in Naples that next season the Partenopei can finally end the Juve’s stranglehold on Serie A, 30 years after their last triumph.
Earlier this month, Ancelotti said of the Senegal stopper: “The best centre back in the world? I would say so.
“And he can still improve. He is worth €150m and he is not available for transfer.
“Koulibaly’s contract expires in 2023, in 2021 there’s a €150m clause but Napoli do not need to sell, the president [Aurelio De Laurentiis] does not want to sell and the question doesn’t come up.”
Now that the question has arisen, the response has been and seemingly will continue to be, a resounding no.