Manchester United's Midfield Rebuild Faces Complications with Kone and Baleba
Manchester United’s midfield rebuild has hit its first major complication of the summer – and it’s coming from Paris.
INEOS’ new era at Old Trafford has already delivered Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa, two early pieces in Michael Carrick’s plan to reshape the centre of the pitch before a season that brings both a Champions League return and the expectation of a genuine Premier League challenge.
The third piece was supposed to be Manu Kone. For weeks, the 25-year-old AS Roma midfielder has looked like the headline act of United’s engine-room overhaul. Now, he is waiting for someone else.
Kone waits on PSG as United circle
United’s interest in Kone has been no secret. On July 9, TEAMtalk’s Graeme Bailey revealed the club had moved for the Frenchman, who enhanced his reputation with standout performances for France at the 2026 World Cup. Roma, sensing the market, set their price at around £50m.
Italian reports this week went further, claiming United and Kone had already reached an agreement in principle on personal terms, with the Premier League side readying a bid close to €50m (£42.6m, $57m). Corriere dello Sport described United as the club “with the most potential for the deal,” with talks ongoing and Kone’s agent, D’Amico, waiting for a decisive move.
The message from Rome was clear: €50m is a serious offer, but it might not be enough.
Atletico Madrid, Al-Ahli and Chelsea have all been linked, yet none of them are the club Kone is currently holding out for. According to Il Tempo, relayed by SportWitness and RomaPress, the midfielder is now waiting for a call from last season’s Ligue 1 and Champions League winners, Paris Saint-Germain.
Kone has indicated he is open to joining United. He sees the appeal. The project, the league, the platform. But his preference is obvious: he is still hoping PSG step into the race.
So far, Luis Enrique’s side have not made a concrete move. No formal bid, no decisive push. Just the weight of their shadow, enough to stall one of United’s key summer pursuits.
For Carrick and INEOS, it creates an awkward limbo. Push ahead and risk being used as leverage, or wait and watch PSG’s next move dictate the market.
Baleba: the midfielder United “absolutely love”
United, though, are not betting everything on Kone. While they wait to see whether PSG actually turn admiration into action, another name has stayed firmly on their list: Carlos Baleba.
The Brighton midfielder wanted to join United last season. The feeling at Old Trafford was mutual. The problem was the price.
Brighton, masters of the modern transfer market, were demanding figures “well north of £75m and closer to £100m” for the 22-year-old Cameroon international, according to TEAMtalk’s Bailey. That valuation forced United to walk away, even as their admiration for the player never really cooled.
“What I am hearing is they want someone who can really help them defensively,” Bailey said on July 21. “In an ideal world they’d just sign Carlos Baleba. They absolutely love his game.
“Yes, he didn’t have his best season, but they still believe he’d be an outstanding fit for Manchester United.
“United believe Baleba is worth somewhere around the £50m mark, especially after what they considered an inconsistent campaign. Brighton couldn’t disagree more.”
Those numbers looked even starker in a market where Brighton were already talking huge fees before Elliot Anderson briefly became the most expensive British player ever, a mark since surpassed by Morgan Rogers. If Anderson and Rogers are pushing ceilings, Brighton see Baleba as operating in the same financial stratosphere.
That stance has kept him, for now, outside United’s realistic reach. The admiration is there. The price is not.
A decisive call looming for INEOS
On July 23, Sky Sports confirmed that both Kone and Baleba are “strongly considered” options as United look for that third midfielder who can anchor Carrick’s system and free the attacking talent ahead of him.
Two targets, two very different problems.
With Kone, United face the glamour and gravitational pull of PSG. With Baleba, they face Brighton’s refusal to budge on a valuation that rockets towards nine figures.
INEOS have spoken about discipline in the market, about not repeating the mistakes of previous regimes that overspent out of panic or prestige. This is the first real test of that resolve.
Do they push Roma higher to close Kone before PSG wake up? Do they gamble that Brighton’s stance will soften, or walk away from Baleba entirely and find a third path?
United have already reshaped their midfield once this summer. The next move, whether it’s Kone, Baleba or someone else entirely, will say a lot about how serious this new hierarchy really is about building a title-challenging core rather than another expensive collection of almosts.
