Manchester United have made ‘initial contact’ with Manu Kone to gauge the feasibility of signing him this summer.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the Red Devils are now ‘reaching out’ to their midfield targets in hopes of having them added to Michael Carrick’s ranks as swiftly as possible.
🚨 Manchester United are reaching out to defensive midfielders’ agents ahead of next signing, a DM after Santos and Tielemans.
Manu Kone among players being mentioned in internal talks and with initial approach on player side; not the only one.
🎥 https://t.co/KbpN6SxXNE pic.twitter.com/iFsXvHza1n
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 14, 2026
United set sights on Manu Kone, contact made
In fairness to INEOS, they wrapped up back-to-back deals for Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans in the space of a week.
The latter’s was more straightforward due to the £35 million release clause in his Aston Villa contract, while a £50 million (£48m upfront plus £2m in add-ons) package was agreed with Chelsea for Santos.
Chelsea weren’t actively looking to move on Santos, but granted the young Brazilian’s wishes to secure increased game time elsewhere.
Kone could follow Tielemans and Santos through the door
Now, Kone is on United’s radar in the aftermath of his stellar international performances this summer.
Italian media suggest Manchester United used the Ederson medical as an excuse to withdraw from the €45m Atalanta deal, so could now turn their focus to Roma’s France international Manu Kone instead.#Atalanta #MUFC #ASRoma #France pic.twitter.com/W9iqLmh01U
— Football Italia (@footballitalia) July 10, 2026
Unfortunately for the AS Roma star, he’ll be travelling back home today following France’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Spain last night.
Kone was surprisingly replaced in Didier Deschamps’ XI ahead of kick-off, despite playing a pivotal role in their wins over Paraguay and Morocco.
Manu Kone’s game by numbers vs. Morocco:
96% pass accuracy
9 carries
3 duels contested
3 duels won
2 fouls won
1 chance created
1 progressive carryReally impressive. 🔝 pic.twitter.com/5lnoNlrJpw
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) July 9, 2026
He was called upon at the interval to replace Adrien Rabiot, who’d been shown an early yellow card, and see out the second half, but was unable to change France’s fate as they slumped to a 2-0 loss.
From United’s perspective, however, it means they can ramp up their pursuit of the 25-year-old and begin formal negotiations.
Roma have reportedly set their price tag at £43m for Kone, though it remains to be seen if the fee will have risen after he reached the semi-final stage.
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