Man United urged to spend £100m on Serie A defender
Man United legend David May wants the Red Devils to spend £100m on Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly
Manchester United need to spend £100m to secure Kalidou Koulibaly’s signatiure before one of their Premier League rivals signs the Napoli defender, according to Red Devils legend David May.
The Senegal international has been persistently linked with a move to Manchester United over the past few months given the Red Devils’ well-documented defensive struggles.
Manchester United conceded 29 times in 17 games under Jose Mourinho this season before the Portuguese coach was sacked after a 3-1 loss at Liverpool FC in mid-December.
The Red Devils have only conceded three goals in five games under interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but concerns remain over their back four.
Victor Lindelof has been a mainstay of the defence this season but Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Chris Smalling have all struggled with various fitness problems.
Manchester United were touted with an interest in Koulibaly during Mourinho’s tenure and the speculation hasn’t gone away despite his sacking.
Former Red Devils defender May, who was part of their treble-winning team in 1998/99, urged Manchester United to stump up a big fee for the Napoli centre-half.
“If you look at United over the last god knows how many years they’ve always gone out and broke transfer records if need be,” said May, speaking exclusively to 888sport.
“They did with Rio, Di Maria, Pogba, Lukaku. They allegedly pay Sanchez half a million a week. If you want the best players then you have to pay top money for them. City do it. Liverpool did it with Van Dijk and just look at the transformation. They spent seventy million on a goalkeeper which is a hell of a lot of money but what that gets you back is guaranteed Champions League football and the possibility of winning the Premier League.”
May added: “The amount of money United earn then to spend £100m on a defender….so what? Real Madrid will spend it. Barca will. Chelsea and City will. If it guarantees you a much better defence then go ahead and spend it. If Koulibaly becomes available – and there are rumours that he is interested with a fee of £90m – then I’m sure Ole would say he’d be a great signing for Man United.”
Manchester United will take on third-placed Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League at Wembley on Saturday evening as the Red Devils look to close ground on the top four.
Read the full 888sport interview with David May, including his thoughts on why Pogba can still be the best in the Premier League.
