This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
As quoted by Goal, former Manchester United man Kleberson has given his backing to the club potentially signing Kalidou Koulibaly.
What did he say?
The Napoli centre-back has been the subject of intense transfer speculation, with reports suggesting the Red Devils are chasing the 28-year-old despite growing uncertainty over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s future.
Now, Kleberson has suggested Koulibaly’s physical profile and characteristics could add something else to the United defence, and urged his former side to look outside of the Premier League for future signings.
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He said: “Koulibaly looks athletic and physical which will bring more energy in the defence. Maguire is a big name in England, but it would be good for United to look outside of the Premier League to find players who could play for them.”
Imposing
Standing at 6 foot 1, Koulibaly’s take-no-prisoners approach when it comes to defending would act as a nice foil to Maguire’s more assured presence at the back. The former is a rugged centre-back who imposes his will on opposition forwards, and has averaged a mightily impressive 2.8 tackles and two aerial duels won per game in Serie A this season.
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As United continue to struggle for goals this season – they have scored just nine times from their opening eight Premier League games – the pressure on their defenders keeping a clean sheet just increases ten-fold. Having a presence like Koulibaly to stand alongside summer signing Maguire would give the Red Devils the platform and the knowledge that they may only need one goal to win a match.
His manager at Napoli, Carlo Ancelotti, even remarked the Senegal international could be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Paolo Maldini and Lilian Thuram – high praise indeed. So whilst Victor Lindelof may be the man to partner Maguire right now, as Kleberson suggests, United could do with someone like Koulibaly to add some more quality at the back.
