Man Utd step up January bid to land £13m Serie A centre-back

Manchester United are understood to have stepped up their interest in signing Hellas Verona defender Marash Kumbulla.

The Albania defender has emerged as one of the finest young players in Serie A this season, having only made his senior debut at the start of the campaign.

And, according to reports in Italy, there are understood to be a number of big European clubs who have been alerted to his talents.

Serie A trio Atalanta, Inter Milan and Napoli are all believed to be in the hunt for the young centre-back, as well as United and Bundesliga outfit Red Bull Leipzig.

And it is thought the latter are currently leading the race, having tabled an offer understood to be around £13m for Kumbulla.

The report adds that Verona are keen to cash in on the youngster this month, but would be looking to take him back on loan after he became a key part of Ivan Juric’s line-up.

United showed they have serious issues in defence after they crumbled to a 3-1 defeat at home to rivals Manchester City this week, with Harry Maguire facing an extended spell on the sidelines through injury.

Meanwhile, United are reported to have set their sights on a move for prolific Napoli striker Arkadiusz Milik after drawing a blank in their hunt for attacking reinforcements so far.

United saw efforts to bring in Erling Haaland fail after the striker instead opted for a move for Borussia Dortmund, while Chelsea appear to have overtaken them in the race to sign Moussa Dembele from Lyon.

However, The Sun claims United have more joy in an approach for Milik, who has scored an impressive 10 goals in 12 Serie A appearances for Napoli this season.

Milik is currently in negotiations over a new deal with Napoli but, having rejected their initial offer to him, the publication claims United are ready to pounce if the striker continues to stall on penning an extension.

And with Milik’s contract due to expire in summer 2021, it’s reported they could be forced to cash in to the tune of around £60million this month, if no agreement is reached and before his transfer value begins to decline. Read more…