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When the English air is filled with the festive spirit and merry happiness, the rumour of Kalidou Kouliby to Manchester United has made its return to the Theatre of Dreams. The Telegraph states that Ole Gunnar Solskjær is willing to break his bank to land SSC Napoli 's reputed centre-back in the January transfer window. Still, a few questions remain on the reliability of the rumour.
Despite crushing Chelsea in the Premier League opener with a 4-0 scoreline, Manchester United has made the worst league start since 1986-87 season, when the manager of the club was Ron Atkinson. Having gathered 28 points from 19 matches, Solskjær's men currently sit 8th in the points table.
As United are nowhere near to challenging for the league title, the aim for the season is to finish amongst the top four teams and to qualify for the next season's Champions League. By capturing this season's UEFA Europa League trophy, United could qualify for next season's Champions League. Yet, the Premier League top-four finish looks like a viable and secure route for the Red Devils.
Despite making three well-scouted signings in the summer transfer window, it seems like United lacks heavily in some of their crucial departments. It's believed that they will go all out to make two or more signings. Nevertheless, their records in completing signings in the past few transfer windows don't reflect that much optimism for the upcoming window.
Should United sign a centre-back in January?
United need to make new signings in January, but it is not the central defensive position where they should be looking to add new faces. nited are yet to sign the replacements for Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini, it's the midfield where they need to add some qualities though Erling Håland is one of many who is likely to join Manchester United this January. While injuries to two of their main players are enough to effect their already-hampered season, Solskjær has to make signings due to their lack of reliable options in the squad. Sources that link Koulibaly with the Red Devils have claimed that the manager is worried about their star defenders' inconsistency.
United currently have six centre-backs (Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly, Alex Tuanzebe and Marcos Rojo) in their roster. Rojo and Jones are among those names who are reportedly linked with a move away from Old Trafford. If any new signing is needed to add some variety and tenacity to the squad, they should be looking to offload some of their deadwood first.
