Manchester United chasing a centre-back of Kalidou Koulibaly’s ilk
Manchester United are in the hunt for defensive reinforcements this summer.
Nowadays, ‘transfer rumours’ is one of the massively overused terms around the globe, meaning the football fans show their interest more in hunting down the gossips surrounding their favourite football club (s).
There was a time when making one transfer in the entire window would be regarded as a succesful transfer period. But, in the current scenario, as the ‘so-called’ big clubs have more money in their pockets, they can spend relentlessly in a transfer market.
However, amidst the financial conundrum caused by the coronavirus pandemic, clubs are believed to endure a relatively silent transfer window this summer. And considering the circumstances, the chances of seeing record-breaking moves is near to impossible.
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There have rumours of Napoli’s superstar centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly linking with a summer move to Manchester United as it is believed that United boss Ole Gunnar Solskaer wants to beef up his defence as well as his offence.
With Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish leading the queue for offensive targets, Kalidou Koulibaly is believed to have been on United’s radar for some while now. Yet, the proposed move has no sign of progress, owing to Koulibaly’s eye-watering £85million price tag.
Hence, United have reportedly started scouting for an alternative and have already found one of Kalidou Koulibaly’s ilk. According to the RMC Sport (via Sportsmole), Manchester United have shown interest in luring Benoit Badiashile, a 19-year-old centre-back from AS Monaco, this summer.
Badiashile has been quite impressive with his defensive traits this season for the French outfits, having made 20 appearances across all competitions for Les Monégasques. He is 194cm tall and currently focusing on building a body more suitable to the physical aspects of the game.
Talking about his abilities, the young Frenchman likes to play short passes from the back which help the team during their build-up play. This season, he has recorded 85.3% passing accuracy, with a total of 58 passes being conducted per ninety minutes.
His defensive abilities are eye-catching as well, adding more weight to his stats of 3.4 clearances and 1.7 interceptions per game. He is only 19 and there is a hefty room for improvement.
With United’s defender Chris Smalling reportedly looking to pursue his career in Italy with AS Roma, Benoit Badiashile could a decent replacement for the veteran.
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Do you want the left-footed Benoit Badiashile at Manchester United this summer?