John Barnes: The player Man United should sign before transfer deadline
John Barnes explains why he thinks Man United should sign Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli this summer
Manchester United should be looking to sign Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli this summer, according to John Barnes.
The Red Devils have been strongly linked with a whole host of potential signings this summer but they have so far only brought in midfielder Donny van de Beek from Ajax to strengthen their squad.
Manchester United have been relentlessly linked with a move to bring Jadon Sancho to Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund this summer, but it remains to be seen whether they will be able to get a deal over the line before the deadline on 5 October.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side made a disappointing start to their Premier League campaign when they conceded three goals in a 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace at Old Trafford last weekend.
Former Liverpool FC and England winger Barnes believes that the Red Devils should be focusing on trying to bring a top-quality defender to Old Trafford this summer, such as 29-year-old Senegal international Koulibaly.
Speaking in an interview with BonusCodeBets, Barnes said: “Manchester United should look to sign a player like Kalidou Koulibaly, he has all the trademarks of a player they need in the heart of defence.”
Barnes also believes that the Red Devils should try and make a move to sign a defensive midfielder before the deadline.
He continued: “They should definitely sign a defensive midfielder as they look rather weak back there.
“Everyone talks about Jadon Sancho playing with Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes if they were to bring him in, but there is no good being joyful about these options, if they can’t defend or have hardworking defensive midfield players to support them when they don’t have the ball.
“Manchester United have always been about having the best attacking players in the world, but you can’t do that until you have the right balance, and currently they don’t have the right balance at all.”
Manchester United will aim to get back to winning ways in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime when they take on Brighton and Hove Albion away from home.
The Red Devils finished third and without a trophy under Solskjaer last season.
