Man Utd open to January transfers but Kalidou Koulibaly pursuit could be shelved until the summer

United are aware agreeing a deal in January will be extremely difficult.
Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images

Manchester United are prepared to reignite their pursuit of Kalidou Koulibaly in the summer if Napoli cannot be convinced to sell this month.

The Senegal centre back is United’s top defensive target – and they remain eager to lure him to Old Trafford despite the sacking of Jose Mourinho last month.

But after having two bids rejected by Napoli already, the club’s hierarchy have reluctantly accepted a mid-season deal is highly unlikely.

With Koulibaly having signed a new five-year contract in September there are no guarantees United’s pursuit will be successful at the end of the season – but Ed Woodward is conscious of an overly-inflated market in January.

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United’s executive vice chairman has not ruled making signings this month, with central defence the area identified as most in need of strengthening. But the improvement in Victor Lindelof under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been hugely encouraging.

Koulibaly is believed to be keen to play in the Premier League, with United probably the only club capable of paying in the region of £100m to prise him away from Napoli.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has already proven himself a fierce negotiator after selling Jorginho to Chelsea for £57m last summer, despite Manchester City’s determination to land the midfielder in a cut price deal.

Woodward open to bringing in players before a director of football arrives.
Man Utd via Getty Images

With Koulibaly committed to the Italian club, United are likely to have to make the 27-year-old the most expensive defender in history if they want to bring him to Old Trafford.

Despite being without a permanent manager or a director of football, Woodward is still open to player recruitment between now and the end of the season, with a list of targets – including Koulibaly – drawn up last summer.

Solskjaer will also be consulted.

The Norwegian said: “The club's probably had a plan. You don't just plan the next day and next month. This transfer window has probably been planned since the summer and year before.

“The structure is phenomenal and I'm sure they've got their targets. I'm here to voice my opinion on that and I'm sure we'll sit down, me and Ed, if we've got anything in the pipeline.

“I'm here to work with the ones I've got. They've all performed and as long as they perform they should get a chance, but that's my job to improve players and individuals.”

United’s priority is to find a successor to Mourinho and a football presence at board level as part of a major restructuring of the club.

Ideally they would like a director of football or technical director in place before recruiting their next permanent manager.

That would allow that appointment to play a role in the managerial search, as well as taking control of the transfer strategy at the end of the season.

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