Considering Manchester United appear to be edging ever closer to signing Raphaël Varane, their pursuit of Kalidou Koulibaly makes little sense.
And yet, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, the Red Devils have gone as far as making an actual bid for the defender, who isn’t that keen on staying in Naples if he has anything to say about it.
The Italian newspaper explain Aurelio De Laurentiis, who loves to say no, has done just that to ‘an offer of €30m for Kalidou Koulibaly brought by the player’s agent Fali Ramadani on behalf of Manchester United’.
Not only would this bid give them €30m in the bank, but selling him means they would also save €22m in wages over the next two years, giving them over €50m in ‘budget relief’.
However, ‘the owner’s strategy is still clear and he sends a strong signal to the outside, especially to the rich of the Premier League’, which is that his club ‘remains an expensive shop and there are no end-of-season sales’.
It’s not outright said that Koulibaly is unhappy at the fact the offer was turned down, but Gazzetta do wonder whether this tactic used by De Laurentiis is the right one to build a new project under a newly appointed manager, especially when the defender ‘has been living for a year and a half with his suitcase ready’.
That’s referring to the offers from Manchester City last year, and others before that, but one thing is clear: the Senegal international ‘has asked to be sold’.
The next question is, ‘will he remain calm’ going forward or will he stir up a fuss to get his transfer?
We’ll have to wait and see about that one.
