Perhaps in a sign of things to come, once Newcastle have their new owners formally in place the Magpies are keen to win the race for an €80m signing ahead of Manchester United.
Football Italia have cited news from Sky Sports suggesting that Kalidou Koulibaly is wanted by the north east club, and that the 29-year-old Senegalese ‘could be interested’ in making a move to St James’ Park, as long as the takeover goes ahead.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer rates the player as one of the best centre-backs in the world according to the Manchester Evening News, who go on to suggest that the Norwegian, despite his admiration for the defender, is happy with those players that he already has in situ at Old Trafford.
To that end, one can infer that the Red Devils will turn their attentions to other areas of the squad which perhaps need freshening up, as United go looking for the players that will help bring back the glory days that they once enjoyed under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Koulibaly would almost certainly do that, but with such a high transfer fee for a player approaching his thirties, particularly in light of the coronavirus pandemic, not entering the bidding is arguably a sensible policy at this point from the much-maligned Ed Woodward.