Man United's wish to sign Kalidou Koulibaly dashed by Napoli's £100 million demand: Report

Man United's wish to sign defender Kalidou Koulibaly might just be over with the recent statement released by Napoli's officials. Man United's boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was reportedly keen to bag 28-year-old Kalidou Koulibaly to strengthen the Red Devils' defence. Kalidou Koulibaly will seemingly be a great match to world's most expensive defender Harry Maguire at Man United, whom the club signed in 2019 for a whopping sum of £80 million from Leicester City. However, the economic ramifications caused by the coronavirus pandemic might stop Man United from signing the Senegal international. 

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Man United transfer news: Coronavirus' effects to halt Koulibaly transfer

Almost all the major clubs in Europe are facing deep economic losses with the halt in their income from ticketing sales and broadcasting rights. The clubs are expected to think twice before spending their money in the upcoming transfer market. As reported by The Sun, Napoli's sporting director, Cristiano Giuntoli, recently stated that Napoli will not lower their price for Kalidou Koulibaly even during the time of the on-going recession.

Cristiano Giuntoli insisted that Napoli are going to stick with their £100 million asking price for Kalidou Koulibaly and any club who desires to sign the player will have to match their expectations.

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Napoli's sporting director on Koulibaly transfer

Cristiano Giuntoli, while talking with The Sun, stated that Kalidou is a great player, who still has a long contract with them and so if they were to sell him, the club would ask for a large sum. Koulibaly's contract at Napoli runs till 2023 and it looks like as if the club is not ready to let off their star defender easily.  Man United have reportedly faced a loss of £28 million in revenue amidst the global pandemic till now and the Red Devils might find it difficult to gather Napoli's asking price for the defender.

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Napoli's man-mountain in the back

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Koulibaly transfer: Clubs who have tried to sign the defender in the past

Kalidou Koulibaly is considered to be one of the top defenders of this era and the reasons are quite obvious. The 28-year-old won the Serie A best defender award for the 2018-19 season. In 2016, Kalidou Koulibaly was rumoured to join Premier League side, Everton. However, Napoli rejected the Toffees' bid of £60 million that time and the defender remained at Italy.

Another Premier League club in the name of Tottenham Hotspur have showered their interest on the Napoli's defender in the past but the deal never went through as Spurs believed that Kalidou Koulibaly was way above their transfer budget. French champions Paris Saint-Germain are still keeping a tab on Kalidou Koulibaly as they are looking out for a prominent replacement for their defending ace Thiago Silva.