I think this ship has sailed to be honest, he's 28 years old and his birthday is at the end of June so he's going to be 33 by the start of next season.
Kalidou Koulibaly
- Thread starter Sassy Colin
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Hopefully Axel stays clear of injuries next season and the end of this season and gets some games. Then I'd give Mengi a run out in a few cup games as part of a back 5 and see how he does.
It continues, althoughg €85M a lot less than they wanted last summer.
http://sportwitness.co.uk/mancheste...poli-koulibaly-de-laurentiis-profit-transfer/
http://sportwitness.co.uk/mancheste...poli-koulibaly-de-laurentiis-profit-transfer/
I wish I could be bothered to care about football at the moment.
Waste of time. Money will be tight in the next window (whenever that is) and we're far better off spending it on positions that desperately need upgrading.
As much as I'd love to get him, unless we have some serious money available we have bigger fish to fry.
Our defence is looking solid and with Maguire/Lindelof/Bailly/Tuanzebe it's a decent 4 options.
If we can get Sancho, Ighalo, and +1 midfielder and still have cash to spare for Koulibaly then great - but not essential.
Our defence is looking solid and with Maguire/Lindelof/Bailly/Tuanzebe it's a decent 4 options.
If we can get Sancho, Ighalo, and +1 midfielder and still have cash to spare for Koulibaly then great - but not essential.
I agree. I think the new policy of only signing players who are born in Scorpio and Sagittarius is the right thing to do by Ed and Matt, respectively. It also help with the cultural cohesion of the team that only includes fantastic human beings™
Sancho, Bellingham, Koulibaly, Grealish. Bring it on 
Will never happen
Will never happen We don't need another £85M CB, we need to address midfield and try and push the Sancho deal through.
Do you work for a tabloid? That's € not £, so approx £76M.
No, I just misread it, point remians the same, we don't need to be spending that kind of money on any CB this summer.
Don't then, why go on a football forum. What's the purpose of this post
Don't see the this transfer happening for the money needed.
Which would still be laughably obscene in the circumstances.
My initial thought about signing Koulibaly, was that we don´t really need him. My second thought is that we do. We never get a chance to rest Maguire, indispensable as he is due to his dominanse in the air. Also, if we offload Jones, Rojo and Smalling, we would be in need of another DC.
Lindeløf: 187cm
Bailly: 187cm
Tuanzebe: 182cm
Jones:180cm
Maguire: 194cm
Koulibaly: 195cm
Another article linking us to him:
http://www.thefaithfulmufc.com/man-...lion-to-finally-secure-signing-pole-position/
Lindeløf: 187cm
Bailly: 187cm
Tuanzebe: 182cm
Jones:180cm
Maguire: 194cm
Koulibaly: 195cm
Another article linking us to him:
http://www.thefaithfulmufc.com/man-...lion-to-finally-secure-signing-pole-position/
I obviously know this guy is very talented, but is heading a strength of his? We've had a couple of CB's of late that were tall but terrible headers of the ball. I'm just saying, it'd be nice to be a threat from corners again.
We don’t need to rest Maguire any more than we do. He’s the club captain and should be starting 38 league games a season unless he’s injured.
And Koulibaly isn’t really 195cm.
He’s not that great in the air to me.
Which CB do you have in mind? Smalling (194cm), e.g. was excellent defending the box on crossers and set pieces.
Yeah, Smalling was great at defending with his head, no doubt about it. He absolutely stinks attacking with it though. Everytime Smalling scores from a set-piece or corner, it's with his foot, in acres of space.
Jones and Lindelöf too haven't done anything noteworthy. Has Rojo ever scored a header for us? Bailly?
Maguire has been definitely been an upgrade but he can't seem to hit the target with his head or generate enough power (fantastic at defending with his head though). But atleast he gets to the end of crosses usually so maybe he has been unlucky so far.
I'm just saying, it would be nice to have some aerial threat. Looking back to the 2007/2008 season it seemed liked we scored on every corner/cross.
Bummer.
The only defender we should consider is Upamecano.
How does this garbage story get legs?
What would be the odds on us not buying a CB while Ole is in charge
I think that would be a good indication.
What would be the odds on us not buying a CB while Ole is in charge
I think that would be a good indication.
Koulibaly is my favourite CB out there who isn't VVD. Unfortunate to say, but that man is a beast.
However, last summer was Kalidou time. We broke the world record for Maguire instead. We wont be doing it again this summer for Kalidou. Not when we need a RW, CDM, CM, and a striker. Ship has sadly sailed.
However, last summer was Kalidou time. We broke the world record for Maguire instead. We wont be doing it again this summer for Kalidou. Not when we need a RW, CDM, CM, and a striker. Ship has sadly sailed.
My mind was on the defensive part. It helps having someone 190+ defending the box. I´m not sure about Koulibaly´s offensive skills, tbh. He scored 5 goals for Napoli in 2017/2018, while he has none this season.
He´s 195cm according to both WhoScores and Wikipedia, but I see now Transfermarkt has him at 187. Don´t know what´s correct.
He's 187cm.
I personally think we made the right decision breaking the bank for Maguire and not this guy. Don`t get me wrong he`s is a top defender but Chris Smalling looks world class in that league, no guarantee Koulibaly would be playing like a defender worth over 100m(this is how much he would have cost) in the PL whereas with Maguire you knew what you were getting since he is proven in the PL, English and was apparently a Utd fan growing up. And we are yet to look at the fact that he`s almost 29 with a style of play that heavily relies on pace, power and athleticism. His decline will be sharp and quicker once he hits 30. Maguire is 27, in his prime and doesn`t rely on PnP, can easily play for 5-8 more years at top level.
Agreed, we're not ready to compete at the moment, so I think we were wise to go for Maguire over Koulibaly. Unless we have an incredible transfer window this summer, we won't be competing for another 2 years at the earliest. At that time, Koulibaly would be 30/31 and would likely need to be replaced within a few years given his play style.
Saying that, short term success is important and if he was available for about £45/50m it could be a decent move for all parties. However, there's no chance Napoli will sell for any reasonable fee.
Harry's leadership is an underrated component of the purchase as well. Can't think of many players who can come in and become club captain in one season even in such a young squad. Ole played it perfectly.
Hope united don’t try and go for this guy. Too expensive and too late. I’d rather spend 70m+ on someone younger.
Even if we were ready to compete Maguire would have still been a better option. Guardiola(who made City pay 70m for him last summer), Jose(who wanted him at Utd), Rodgers and Southgate all rate him for a reason. Plus it`s not been talked about but Koulibaly has been poor this season. Paying ridiculous money for him now will look even more silly than last summer.
How often have you watched Koulibaily, out of curiosity?
Don’t think there are any truth in these rumours for Koulibaly. If we hadn’t signed Maguire last summer, then there is a possibility but I cannot see us splashing that sort of cash out for another CB in this upcoming window when we need reinforcements in midfield, right winger & striker more than a CB quoted for roundabout £80M.
Out of interest and not having a go at anyone here who do you think would be a better partner with Maguire than KK? Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I can't believe some are going the route of weaker league again did Bruno teach you nothing. Class is Class
Don't see us signing players over 26 for big money. A good policy IMO.
I don't think its that aspect people have an issue with? It's not his quality, its his age, the price, the timing, and the fact he'd be coming to the PL very late in his career and you just never know. It's not a transfer that makes sense for us now.
There seems to be some confusion around his height, but I guess 187 is correct. Same as Bailly then.
Koulibaly has been sub-par this season but he's still on his day a world class defender (arguably Seria A's best CB for the previous 3 seasons). But I agree in that Maguire at £80m made more sense than getting Koulibaly at about the £100m that Napoli wanted last summer. Saying that, although CB shouldn't be number 1 priority this summer, if Koulibaly is available for about £50m I'd be happy if we sold Smalling, Rojo and Jones to bring him in.
Just to note that Tuanzebe is definitely taller than that now. In photos he looks a similar height to Lindelof (I actually thought he was taller until I looked at the photos). Jones is also about that same height as well. Bailly and Rojo are the two that are a bit shorter.
Smalling scored quite a few with his head. He was always good at winning the header from set pieces, he just wasn't all that good at directing it properly. Actually, Maguire has been pretty much the same this season. Won a lot, but it almost always goes off target.
Trust me enough times to know that while he is a very good CB Maguire was and still is the better fit for us.
Would honestly prefer investments to be made in attack. Admittedly, I haven't watched too much of Koulibaly but I believe investment in him should only be made if he can come in and deliver world class performances from day 1 akin to Van Dijk for Pool. If there is even an iota of doubt, we should skip this one.
I genuinely don't see us signing him as I consider this to be mostly tabloid gossip.
I genuinely don't see us signing him as I consider this to be mostly tabloid gossip.
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