Manchester United have been knocked back in their bid for Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, reports in Italy say.
United are in the market for a centre-back for a second summer in a row, and have been linked with Koulibaly as a solution to the long-term problem position.
After a season where no dominant central defensive pairing has emerged for United, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is hoping to succeed where Jose Mourinho couldn't and bring in reinforcements in that position.
And now Gazzetta dello Sport reporter Nicolo Schira claims the club have had a €110m (£96.4m) bid rejected by Napoli.
Schira claims Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis has no interest in selling Koulibaly, and a release clause of €150M (£131.5m) will only be available 'from 2020.'
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Meanwhile, United are set to trigger Thomas Partey’s release clause, according to reports.
It is claimed by Football Ghana that the Reds are prepared to pay the £43.5million required to release Partey from his Atletico Madrid contract.
Solskjaer is on the look-out for a replacement for Ander Herrera and Partey would fit the bill.
Finally, Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt has decided to join Barcelona this summer, reports say.
The Mirror report the Ajax captain has finally decided to commit his future to the Catalan club. He has been linked with a move to United along with a host of other clubs including Man City, Bayern Munich and PSG.
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