Real Madrid are reportedly lining up a bid of around £90million to seal the transfer of Napoli defender and Manchester United target Kalidou Koulibaly.
The Senegal international has long been linked with the Red Devils, with ESPN recently claiming he’s one of their top targets to solve their problem position of centre-back, and that he’s open to a move to Old Trafford.
However, in big news emerging from Italy, it looks as though Koulibaly could now be on his way to Real Madrid instead.
This is according to Il Mattino, as translated by talkSPORT, claiming the Spanish giants are preparing to bid around £90m for the 27-year-old, which is tipped to be enough to persuade Napoli into letting their star player go.
Koulibaly could be a fine signing for Madrid as well, coming in as a long-term replacement for Sergio Ramos as this generation of players at the Bernabeu seem to be at the end of their successful cycle.
Real have been poor this season following the summer departures of former manager Zinedine Zidane and star player Cristiano Ronaldo.
While Koulibaly would not solve all of their problems, it would be a good start for Los Blancos to beat United to one of the world’s best defenders.
If Koulibaly moves for £90m, it would break the current world record fee paid for a defender, currently at the £75m Liverpool paid for Virgil van Dijk last January, as per BBC Sport.