Manchester United have brought four centre-backs to Old Trafford since the summer of 2016 and all four are currently at the club.
After Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelöf, Harry Maguire joined the Red Devils in 2019, and then Raphaël Varane arrived before the start of this season.
For the past few years, the Premier League side have been regularly linked to Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly.
There were even reports linking the defender to the Manchester club in the summer, with some stating United submitted a €30m offer. This was deemed insufficient since the Serie A side wanted at least €50m.
Those claims are now backed up by journalist Paolo Esposito. It’s been close to two months since the summer window closed and Esposito details why the English club failed in their attempt to sign the Senegal international.
“During the last transfer window, Manchester United offered €35m to Napoli for Kalidou Koulibaly,” Esposito told 87tv.it’s Area di Rigore, relayed by Area Napoli.
“The reaction of the owner Aurelio De Laurentiis? The president slammed the phone in the face of the English. The proposal was considered excessively low.”
Manchester United ended the window by investing around €40m to sign Varane from Real Madrid, who is two years younger than Koulibaly.
