Man Utd told to pay £90m in January to land defensive solution for Jose Mourinho

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Man Utd have struggled with a leaky defence so far this season, and it’s reported that they’ll have to splash out £90m to land top target Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli.

The Red Devils have conceded 26 goals in 16 games in the Premier League thus far, giving them the joint-worst defensive record of the top 13 sides in the standings.

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It has been a major factor in their struggles to keep up the pace in the battle for a top four finish, and so it would appear as though they need to address it moving forward in order to compete.

As noted by The Independent, Jose Mourinho was left frustrated as they failed to land a defender in the summer, although the Portuguese tactician does have several options at his disposal already.

Nevertheless, the likes of Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones haven’t been able to keep things tight at the back, and in turn it has led to continued speculation of a swoop for a defensive target.

According to The Times, United must pay £90m if they wish to prise Koulibaly away from Napoli, with the 27-year-old firmly establishing himself as one of the top defenders in Europe.

Koulibaly has made 174 appearances for Napoli since arriving in 2014, while he also has 29 caps for Senegal as he has gained plenty of experience at the highest level.

Further, aside from his defensive solidity, aerial prowess and pace, he’s also comfortable in possession to be able to build out from the back. In turn, he could tick all the right boxes for Mourinho.

Nevertheless, that is a sizeable transfer valuation which has been quoted, and so it remains to be seen if Man Utd are willing and able to match such demands to take him to Old Trafford.

Koulibaly is arguably perfect for the Premier League, but it will seemingly take a massive investment to convince Napoli to sell their influential ace.

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