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Manchester United target Kalidou Koulibaly wants to leave Napoli.
The central defender is reported to have told the club’s controversial president Aurelio de Laurentis about his decision in a telephone call, although he accepts that he will not be able to leave the Serie A club until his £90 million valuation has been met.
This though represents a drop in the amount of money they are prepared to accept for the Senegalese international. They had previously demanded more than £100 million for him but, after a turbulent season for the team which saw Carlo Ancelotti fired and replaced by Gennaro Gatuso, they have had to drop their price.
Koulibaly’s potential availability will interest clubs across Europe, but he has been strongly linked with the Premier League and Manchester United in particular.
They are looking to strengthen their defence further in the summer, with both Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo set to leave, and doubts about Eric Bailly and his fitness. There is also a decision to be made about the future of Chris Smalling currently on loan with Roma.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.