Report: Jose Mourinho Asks Manchester United to Fund Kalidou Koulibaly Transfer

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has reportedly requested the funds necessary to sign Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly during the January transfer window. 

The Senegal international signed a new contract at the Stadio San Paolo earlier in 2018, but the Sunday Times (h/t Mirror's Alex Smith) reported he's open to a move to the Premier League, and Mourinho is interested.

United failed to recruit a centre-back in the summer after executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward reportedly decided there was little value in the market.

Harry Maguire, Toby Alderweireld, Diego Godin and Jerome Boateng are all mentioned among the list of centre-backs United failed to sign in the summer.

But there are undoubtedly easier targets the Red Devils could go after other than such a treasured Napoli star. Partenopei president Aurelio De Laurentiis is renowned as a difficult negotiator, and Italian football writer David Amoyal recently illustrated the status Koulibaly holds in Naples:

The 27-year-old moved to Serie A from Belgian side Genk in the summer of 2014 for a reported £6.5 million, but United would be expected to pay far more than that fee now.

De Laurentiis spoke to Radio Kiss Kiss (h/t Football Italia) in July and confirmed an unnamed English club had a €100 million (£88.3 million) offer for Koulibaly turned down: "It's true, we had a €100 million bid from the Premier League for Koulibaly, but we're not negotiating his sale."

Mourinho has used Chris Smalling, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Phil Jones and even midfielders Ander Herrera and Scott McTominay at centre-back this season, while Marcos Rojo continues to recover from an injury he suffered with Argentina at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The rotation this term highlights there's no first-choice central defender at Old Trafford, although blogger Liam Cannning argued Smalling has been the best performer this term:

Chelsea are also said to be interested in Koulibaly, and those links aren't likely to have subsided since former Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri took over in west London.

Statman Dave showed how he impressed in the recent 1-0 UEFA Champions League win over Liverpool:

The Africa Cup of Nations will no longer be considered a burden to European teams after it was changed to a summer competition, relieving one of the potential burdens that could come with signing Koulibaly.

However, the Red Devils sit 10th in the Premier League this season and may struggle to convince any top-tier talent to join this January unless they can convince their Champions League qualification hopes look brighter.