Manchester United planning for Football Manager wonderkid to replace Lisandro Martinez long-term: report

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez
Manchester United are seeking a successor to Lisandro Martinez. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Manchester United are one of several clubs keeping an eye on Werder Bremen defender Karim Coulibaly.

The 18-year-old has impressed in the Bundesliga this season, making 22 appearances and scoring once, making him Werder's youngest ever Bundesliga goalscorer.

Manchester United face transfer competition for Werder Bremen star

Lisandro Martinez receives treatment

Lisandro Martinez receives treatment (Image credit: Getty Images)

Having missed the beginning of the season with a cruciate ligament injury sustained in the previous campaign, Martinez finally returned in November.

However, he picked up a further injury in February and has not played since.

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Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez is closing in on a return to first-team action

Martinez has missed 96 matches with injuries since joining Man United. (Image credit: Getty Images)

There is hope he will be available again soon, but since his arrival at the start of the 2022/23 season, he has missed a total of 96 matches for club and country with seven different injuries.

Coulibaly could be seen as the perfect long term replacement for Martinez, with the German U21 international showing plenty of promise.

His potential has been spotted before, with FourFourTwo even listing him as one of the best wonderkids in Football Manager 26, where he was labelled as "world class".

Sky Sports Germany have reported on Manchester United's interest in the defender, claiming a deal will be very costly.

After his impressive season, a price tag somewhere between €40-50m has been put on the player, who has a contract until 2029 and no release clause.

Lisandro Martinez

Coulibaly could replace Martinez long term. (Image credit: Getty Images)

That price isn't necessarily putting teams off however, with Real Madrid, Chelsea, Newcastle United, PSG and Napoli all scouting the youngster.

Chelsea are said to be particularly keen and have already made contact with the player's representatives over a future move.

However, Coulibaly is reportedly a PSG fan and has dreams of playing for the French side.

Ryan Gray
Freelance Writer

Ryan Gray is a freelance writer, covering mainly travel and occasionally sport. He previously spent two years as Sports Editor at the Watford Observer before turning his hand to travel writing, with his work appearing in various national UK publications. He has gone from providing matchday commentary for Blyth Spartans to covering FA Cup and Euros finals, as well as interviewing the likes of Claudio Ranieri, Alan Shearer and Glenn Hoddle, among other big names. 

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