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Manchester United spent £80m, a world record fee for a defender, to secure the services of Harry Maguire from Leicester City in 2019.

Maguire has arguably not justified the full extent of his price-tag. However, the Englishman has proven to be a reliable option at the heart of the defence, and has also produced many decisive moments in the opposition box.

Interestingly, it seems the Red Devils initially planned to splash a record fee on another central defender. 

In a recent interview, Al Hilal star Kalidou Koulibaly revealed that he wanted to join United in 2018.

At the time, Koulibaly was considered one of Europe’s best defenders, and the Premier League giants supposedly made a massive offer to bring him to Manchester from Naples.

Speaking on Zack en Roue Libre podcast, as relayed by Corriere dello Sport, the 34-year-old said: “Napoli received a €100m offer from Manchester United and rejected it. Ancelotti came and said to me: ‘I came here to win the league. What do you want to do?'”

The Senegal international told Ancelotti of his desire to leave Napoli, as he could have had “the contract of my life” at United. However, the Italian...