Manchester United can reportedly seal the transfer of Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly this summer as long as they pay £130million.
Napoli are not keen to let their star centre-back leave on the cheap, but during initial negotiations have set an asking price that will surely be affordable for a club of Man Utd’s resources.
MORE: Chelsea cleared to bring in top target for just £34m and could majorly spoil Man United’s transfer plans in the process
This also gives the Red Devils a major edge over Chelsea, who have also been linked with Koulibaly, but who would be highly unlikely to be able to pay that kind of money for one player.
Elsewhere, Chelsea have been linked with a move to re-sign Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake for just £34m, so it seems United are most likely only up against Real Madrid in the race for Koulibaly.
This is no doubt a blow for Chelsea, who could have done with the Senegal international linked with them by the Mail, but now look likely to miss out to one of their major Premier League rivals.
If MUFC can bring the 27-year-old in, it would surely do a lot to close that gap between themselves and Manchester City and Liverpool next season.
Both of the top two have spent huge amounts on defenders and goalkeepers in the last couple of years, so it makes sense for United to follow suit.
If they do sign Koulibaly for £130m it would be a world-record transfer fee for a defender.
