Manchester United and Arsenal have reportedly been dealt a blow with Lille central defender agreeing terms with Serie A side Napoli this summer. It was stated earlier in the week that the player would make a decision regarding his future with speculation at the time suggesting that Arsenal would win the race to sign the Brazilian. A few weeks ago, the players agent was in England speaking to two clubs which could well have been United and Arsenal at that time.
However, it was then revealed that United had only spoken to the agent of the player and not Lille, so that gave the suggestion that there was not concrete interest in the player at that time, for whatever reason. It could well have been that United have only managed to get rid of Alexis Sanchez so far this summer and not receiving a transfer fee from that deal with the player signing for Inter Milan, permanently joining Romelu Lukaku and Ashley Young, who left the club last summer and in January, respectively.
Arsenal supporters seemed confident that their club had made a move to sign the player after his brother and sister followed the club in Instagram, which is so Arsenal right now, leading to possible disappointment if reports are true that Napoli have stole the march on the player this summer. It was suggested that the player could have been available for between £22 million and £27 million this summer, which is a good deal for an up and coming central defender who is left-footed and something that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wanted to add to his squad this summer.
The Manchester Evening News have reported that Napoli seem to have agreed terms with the Brazilian this summer, which will be more of a blow with Arsenal after the club had made contact with Lille, according to reports. United will probably see article after article of players that they have missed out on this summer, not actually making a move for any or many of them, which is the same things that happens when each transfer window, summer and winter, are open.
If Napoli end up signing Magalhaes this summer, it could well mean that Kalidou Koulibaly is leaving the Italian club this summer and he has been a player that United, Manchester City and even Liverpool have been linked with. United were rumoured to be interested in the player whilst Jose Mourinho was the manager of the club and last summer, reports suggested that Solskjaer was interested in signing the player too, although the club move for Harry Maguire, another player who was linked to the Old Trafford club whilst Mourinho was the manager.
The 29-year-old Senegal international was originally prices at £90 million but it is suggested that Napoli would accept £70 million for the player this summer, which is going to be a big fee that United will not agree to considering the mess that seem to have made with the prospective transfer for Jadon Sancho this summer, although that might all sort itself out at some point in the future, or be another transfer that never quite got there and something to remain disappointed about for all of time. It is possible that Koulibaly remains at Napoli and that reports stating otherwise are merely just speculation. The player, reported by The Sun, recently said:
“I never spoke to Napoli about leaving. If we have to find a solution, we will find it, but I have never talked about the transfer market.
“I also read in the newspapers about my future – but I only want to think about playing.
“I am 100 per cent [committed to] Napoli and it bothers me to be linked, every day, to this or that European club.
“We will see what the president will decide and if they propose to extend my contract, that would allow me to end my career here.”
Written by John Walker
