EPL Transfer News: Manchester United lead Koulibaly race

EPL giants Manchester United lead the chase for Napoli's towering centre-half Kalidou Koulibaly. The defender has been on the Red Devils' radar for a while now and has garnered interest from several top European clubs outside the EPL.

The Senegalese, who moved to Naples from Genk in 2014, has established himself as one of the best central defenders in world football. His phenomenal displays in the Serie A and the UEFA Champions League have convinced EPL clubs of his quality.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side have perhaps been the longest-standing admirers of the defender. The record EPL title-holders have had a big-money bid rejected in the past due to the notorious Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis' reluctance to sell.

The president has made it clear to all EPL clubs and other European suitors for Koulibaly that he would settle for nothing less than a fee of €90-100m for his star defender. This is an unbelievable profit on the €8m that Napoli paid for Koulibaly's services.

The defender is also linked with a move to league leaders Liverpool

Barcelona and Real Madrid, along with French champions Paris Saint-Germain were also touted as potential destinations for the Senegalese. However, the Blaugrana and Los Blancos are now reportedly looking at other targets while PSG have also begun to look elsewhere according to French reports.

United, one of the most financially stable clubs in the EPL, have already spent big money on a player in the exact same position — when they parted with £80m for Harry Maguire. Despite their interest in recruiting another centre-half, it is unclear if they would spend another large sum on Koulibaly.

4 - Harry Maguire has scored four goals from outside the box in his club career, with all four coming in different competitions (FA Cup, Premier League, League One and the EFL Trophy). Leather. pic.twitter.com/4RtFaMv7mq

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 26, 2020

Former EPL champions Chelsea are another club that have long been linked to Koulibaly, along with the likes of Manchester City and current EPL leaders Liverpool. Apart from clubs in the top six, Newcastle United have been touted as a surprise name to try and lure Koulibaly to England. The Magpies are lining up a host of big names as their big-money takeover edges closer.

EPL giants United looking to secure Sancho deal

English international Sancho is also on United's radar

Apart from a centre-back, United are confident of securing a deal for Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho. The former Manchester City winger has been noted as United's main target heading into the summer for some time by a number of news outlets. The right-winger, should be complete a transfer to Old Trafford will be the face of Solskjaer's United rebuild and will fill a gaping hole in the squad.

Sancho also shares an excellent relationship with several players in the United squad, namely Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard. The former has already spoken out on the prospect of playing with Sancho in the EPL, saying,

"Obviously we'll be good. (Jadon) Sancho is a great player and you sort of, you know, it's like the new generation player, and it's definitely exciting, to watch him become the player that is becoming so, um, you know, credit to him. Hopefully we can, we can all play together. That'll be, that'd be good."

15 - Jadon Sancho has assisted 15 goals in the Bundesliga this season for Borussia Dortmund - the last Englishman to assist as many league goals in a single campaign within Europe's top five divisions was Frank Lampard in 2004-05 with Chelsea (18 assists). Special. pic.twitter.com/vV3g7dN5En

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 7, 2020

Rashford, along with the rest of the United squad has returned to training under social distancing guidelines. The Englishman has stepped up his recovery from an injury that has kept him out of action for over three months.