Premier League 2018-19: 3 reasons why Manchester United should sign Kalidou Koulibaly in January

#3 He could help United go deep in the Champions League

Koulibaly's versatility could help United go far in the Champions League

Despite their poor start in the Premier League, United haven’t done too badly in the UEFA Champions League this season. A big win over Juventus in Turin was the key result, and despite a loss in their last group game to Valencia, they were able to qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament.

Despite all of their shortcomings thus far, the Red Devils still have one of the best squads in Europe. Paul Pogba when on form is one of the best midfielders in the world bar none, attackers like Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez have the ability to damage any defence, and in David De Gea, they can boast the talents of arguably the best goalkeeper in the world.

The only weakness holding them back from making a real run in the Champions League – a knockout competition, meaning all of the suffering under Mourinho can be forgotten going forward – is their defence.

Drawn against Paris St. Germain in the round of 16, United would need to dig deep to find a way to win. Their front-line can easily break the French champions, but right now, their defence isn’t likely to stand up under the bombardment of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

With Kalidou Koulibaly aboard though, things could be different. By signing the Senegalese colossus, United wouldn’t just be getting a central defender; Koulibaly has experience playing anywhere in defence – including in both full-back positions – and has even masqueraded as a holding midfielder at times.

That means Solskjaer could work to find the correct mix of players around him in order to really shore up United’s defence.

If they were to sign Koulibaly to make their defence more solid, then United would definitely have a chance of beating PSG. And if they were to do that, then they’d literally be four games away from the Champions League final.

Given other underdogs have succeeded in the competition before, it wouldn’t be an impossible target for Solskjaer – particularly with a world-class defender like Koulibaly on board.