Manchester United's Chase For $127M Defender Ends As Napoli Refuses To Lower His Transfer Fee

Napoli have refused to lower Senegal defender, Kalidou Koulibaly’s transfer fee of $127m despite the current market being slashed by the financial aftermath of coronavirus outbreak.

Several clubs across Europe are suffering due to the lack of match-day income and some could be forced to sell their star players as compensation for the next season. Unfortunately, for Manchester United, Napoli are not willing to let go of their popular center-back for cheap.

Koulibaly has been one of Man Utd’s targets ahead of the upcoming transfer market and the latest statement from the Serie A club has dashed the hopes of the Premier League’s side to land the talented player at Old Trafford this summer.

The 28-year-old striker, who is understood to have informed Napoli that he would like to leave the San Paolo side if a bigger club came knocking on his door, is contracted with the two-time Serie A champions until 2023.

“Kalidou is a great player, who still has a long contract with us. If we were to sell, the club could ask for a large sum. A player like this cannot change his value even in a crisis, so we are not moving our valuation,” Napoli sporting director Cristiano Giuntol said in a recent interview, as per Mirror.

After winning the Serie A Best Defender award for the 2018-19 campaign, Koulibaly has grabbed attention from various top European clubs, especially Man Utd since the club’s manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is one of his admirers.

If Senegal defender does move to Man Utd this summer, he would be positioned at the backline along with Harry Maguire, who became the world's most expensive defender during his $101m move from Leicester City to Man Utd last summer.

Since the Red Devils have already suffered a loss at least $35m in revenue in the wake of the pandemic, the club has decided to not go all out at the summer transfer window and instead stick to a restricted budget.

Due to his ongoing thigh injuries, Koulibaly has made just 21 appearances for Napoli, across all tournaments, this season.