Paper Talk: Man Utd handed major lift in bid to sign £81m defensive ace

Manchester United have been given a major boost to their hopes of signing an £81m Napoli star, while Tottenham are ready to move for a £43m midfielder – all in the latest Paper Talk.

 

MAN UTD GIVEN KOULIBALY TRANSFER BOOST

Manchester United have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Kalidou Koulibaly, as Napoli have reportedly identified a replacement for one of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s top transfer targets.

The Serie A side have been warding off potential suitors for Koulibaly for the past few seasons, but speculation about the 28-year-old’s future has once again emerged ahead of the summer window.

And Koulibaly’s exit from Naples could now be on the cards, as according to Italian publication Corriere dello Sport, via the Daily Express, claims that Napoli are expecting to sell Koulibaly in the summer.

The report claims the club’s Sporting Director, Cristiano Giuntoli, has identified Sevilla defender Diego Carlos as a suitable replacement.

However, United are fully aware that they will face competition for Senegal ace Koulibaly, with PSG the main contenders for his signature – having already been in contact with the centre-back’s agent.

PSG see Koulibaly, who has also been linked with Everton, as the ideal replacement for the outgoing Thiago Silva, as the 35-year-old Brazilian is out of contract at the end of this season and is expected to leave the club in the summer.

If Napoli do part company with Koulibaly then it will come at a price for United or PSG, with the Daily Star claiming that Napoli chief Aurelio de Laurentiis will demand a record fee of around £81m (€90m) for the player.

 

 

AND THE REST

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have to use £87million of his summer transfer budget in order to sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic as Paul Pogba’s replacement (Daily Express)

Tottenham could join the race for Philippe Coutinho with the Brazilian being offered to Premier League clubs (Daily Mirror)

Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi has denied reports linking him with a move to Inter Milan in a post on social media (Daily Express)

Lionel Messi TEAMtalk

Football chiefs are planning to complete the season – with an incredible 433 games in just 56 days (The Sun)

EFL chief Rick Parry has told clubs the master plan to finish the season with seven key points (The Sun)

Arsenal target Houssem Aouar has been tipped to achieve big things in the game by Karim Benzema and Pep Guardiola (The Sun)

Former centre-back Johan Djourou has taken Swiss club FC Sion to court – after they sacked him for not taking a pay cut (The Sun)

Tottenham have been linked with a move for £43million-rated Rennes midfielder Edouardo Camavinga (Football.London)

Manchester City and Portugal full-back Joao Cancelo is wanted by Barcelona in a deal seeing his defensive compatriot Nelson Semedo going the other way (Daily Telegraph)

Napoli are considering signing West Ham star Felipe Anderson in the next transfer window and are ready to offer Hirving Lozano in a swap deal (Daily Star)

Chelsea are planning to make a move for Leicester full-back Ben Chilwell when the transfer market reopens (Daily Mail)

Valencia will only sanction Tottenham target Geoffrey Kondogbia’s departure if his £61 million ($76m) release clause is met (Goal)

Chelsea are prepared to sanction N’Golo Kante’s departure if they receive a suitable offer this summer (90min)

N'Golo Kante TEAMtalk

Former Arsenal defender Steve Morrow is on the shortlist to become Tottenham’s next academy chief (Daily Mail)

The PFA have recruited top QC Nick De Marco as players and clubs try to break the deadlock over proposed wage cuts (Daily Mail)

Brighton technical director Dan Ashworth is part of a six-strong group who will try to agree a quota system for overseas players with the FA (Daily Mail)

Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf has warned current manager Frank Lampard against attempting to sign Brazil midfielder Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona (ESPN)