Mourinho begs Man Utd to sanction world-record defender swoop

Jose Mourinho is repeatedly asking Manchester United to sanction what would likely prove a world-record swoop for a defender, according to reports on Sunday.

The United boss appears to have survived immediate calls for his dismissal after the side produced another stirring second-half performance in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea.

You can read our Player Ratings from the classic encounter at Stamford Bridge here.

Mourinho looks safe in the United hotseat for the time being at least and is thought to be planning ahead for some January additions to his squad – with a big-money Napoli man at the very top of his wishlist.

According to the Sunday Times, Mourinho is asking executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and United’s moneymen to sanction a swoop for Kalidou Koulibaly.

The Senegal international – widely regarded as one of the game’s best centre-halves – signed a new deal with Napoli over the summer and is likely to cost a fee in excess of the world-record £75m defender fee Liverpool paid for Virgil van Dijk last January.

Mourinho though will argue that the addition of Koulibaly can fix his side’s Achilles’ heel – their poor defending – in one-fell swoop and will be worth the fee as it’s claimed the United boss sees the player as one of the game’s elite stars.

The report in the Sunday Times suggests Koulibaly is open to the idea of moving to the Premier League and will push his side to sanction the deal if United make positive moves to sign him.

It’s suggested, however, that at 27, Woodward may not be keen to spend such a significant amount on a player they are unlikely to make a profit on and that spending such a hefty fee on a player of his age would go against club policies.

Mourinho is also keen on Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic and is reported to have made the Serbian his second option to Koulibaly.

Mourinho attended Serbia’s 2-0 Nations League win against Montengero during the international break to assess the suitability of the player.

While the Fiorentina defender, who recently turned 21, is considered to have the potential to develop into a top centre-back, there remains doubts over whether he is quite ready to handle the pressure of playing at United.

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