Manchester United have reportedly received a boost in their pursuit of Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly after Bayern Munich ruled themselves out of the running to sign the centre-back.
Koulibaly was strongly linked with a switch to the Premier League last year amid reported interest from Man United, Manchester City and Liverpool, but a move failed to materialise and he stayed put in Naples.
However, with United expected to move for defensive reinforcements in the summer transfer window, speculation over the future of Koulibaly - whose contract is up in 2023 - is rife.
Now, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reports that Bayern are not actively involved in the race to sign Koulibaly after they secured the signature of RB Leipzig's Dayot Upamecano.
The European and World champions will be waving goodbye to David Alaba this summer, while the futures of Jerome Boateng and Niklas Sule are also up in the air, but Romano claims that the club have not touched base with Napoli or Koulibaly's entourage over a potential deal.
Should the Red Devils' pursuit of Koulibaly fail to bear fruit, Villarreal's Pau Torres and Real Madrid's Raphael Varane have also been mentioned as potential long-term partners for Harry Maguire.
Ben Knapton
