Manchester United's Midfield Rebuild Hits Snag as Kone Waits for PSG
Manchester United’s midfield rebuild has hit its first snag of the summer – and it comes from Paris.
INEOS have already pushed through deals for Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa, reshaping the core of Michael Carrick’s side with two very different profiles. The plan is clear: three new midfielders to carry United back into the Champions League spotlight and closer to a genuine Premier League title challenge.
The third piece, though, is proving more complicated.
Kone waits for Paris
United’s interest in Manu Kone has been no secret. On July 9, TEAMtalk’s transfer insider Graeme Bailey revealed that the club were lining up a move for the AS Roma midfielder, fresh from an impressive 2026 World Cup with France. Roma’s stance was firm: £50 million or nothing.
Italian reports this week suggested the deal had moved into a decisive phase. Corriere dello Sport described United as the club “with the most potential” to close the transfer, with contacts ongoing and an agreement in principle already in place over personal terms. INEOS, it was said, were ready to lodge an offer close to €50 million (£42.6m, $57m).
A big number. Maybe not big enough.
Roma are under no pressure to sell cheaply, and the market around Kone has never been quiet. Atletico Madrid, Al-Ahli and Chelsea have all been credited with interest. Yet the latest twist doesn’t come from Spain, Saudi Arabia or London.
It comes from Paris.
According to Il Tempo, Kone is holding out for Paris Saint-Germain. The report, relayed by SportWitness and RomaPress, states that while the 25-year-old has made it clear he is open to joining Manchester United, he is still waiting for a call from last season’s Ligue 1 and Champions League winners.
For now, that call has not arrived. Luis Enrique’s side have made no concrete move. No bid, no formal approach. Just the shadow of a possibility that, for Kone, still carries enormous weight.
So United find themselves in a familiar position: the most advanced bidder, but not yet the player’s dream destination.
Baleba back on the board
This is where INEOS’ new regime looks different from the old one. There is no sense of a one-target-or-bust strategy. While the Kone situation drifts in PSG’s direction, United are keeping another powerful option alive: Carlos Baleba.
They know this player well. They tried for him last season, only to walk away when Brighton and Hove Albion planted a huge price tag on the 22-year-old Cameroon international. Figures above £100m were discussed. United, even in an era of inflated fees, simply stepped back.
The admiration, though, never faded.
On July 21, Bailey outlined the club’s thinking. United want a midfielder who can really protect the back line, someone to anchor Carrick’s system. In that “ideal world”, as he put it, they would just sign Baleba. They “absolutely love his game”.
The caveat is his form. Baleba did not have his best season on the south coast, and United’s internal valuation reflects that. They see him at around the £50m mark, a significant fee but one they believe matches his current level and future upside after what they view as an inconsistent campaign.
Brighton see it very differently.
Even before Elliot Anderson briefly became the most expensive British player ever – a record since overtaken by Morgan Rogers – Brighton were talking about numbers “well north of £75m and closer to £100m”. That stance priced United out once. It threatens to do so again.
Sky Sports reported on July 23 that both Baleba and Kone are now being “strongly considered” by United. Two profiles, two negotiations, two very different obstacles.
A decisive call for INEOS
So the picture is this: Kone, with an agreement in principle on personal terms, waiting for PSG. Baleba, admired in Manchester, locked behind Brighton’s valuation.
Carrick wants a third midfielder to complete his reshaped engine room. INEOS want a squad capable of competing on two fronts. The Champions League is back on the calendar. The Premier League cannot be allowed to drift away again.
United can push harder for Kone and hope Paris never pick up the phone. They can test Brighton’s resolve on Baleba and risk being dragged into another auction. Or they can pivot again, hunting for value in a market that rarely offers any.
The names are on the table. The needs are obvious. Now comes the uncomfortable question for United’s new era: how far are they really prepared to go to get the midfielder who changes everything?
