Man Utd agree Manu Kone deal and revive move for Prem destroyer | OneFootball

Manchester United have agreed personal terms with Manu Kone, though a report has explained why he might not become the third signing in central midfield.

Man Utd wrapped up moves for Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans in mid-July, though before the midfield rebuild can be considered complete, one more must arrive.

Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni remains a ‘dream’ target, though he’s recently penned fresh terms at the Bernabeu.

Despite claims to the contrary over the past 48 hours, our colleagues over on TEAMtalk are adamant Real and Tchouameni won’t part ways this summer.

Accordingly, Man Utd must look elsewhere for the third man in the middle, and the latest out of Italy states they’ve agreed a deal with Manu Kone.

The Roma and France ace, 25, has reportedly agreed personal terms in principle with the Red Devils. Regarding cost, Kone is expected to fetch a fee in the £40m-£50m range if he does change clubs.

But according to the latest from Sky Sports reporter, Danyal Khan, Kone isn’t the only midfielder Man Utd are making a move for.

United have reportedly taken the first steps towards reviving a move for Brighton’s Carlos Baleba.

Man Utd ‘movement’ for Carlos Baleba despite Manu Kone agreement

At this point, it’s important to note Man Utd only intend to sign one more midfielder, meaning it would be one or the other and not both.

Khan stated on X: ‘Manu Kone and Carlos Baleba being strongly considered by #mufc as third midfield signing of the summer.

‘Club have made movement recently in revisiting a potential move for Baleba but no official club-to-club contact has been made yet.

‘United have also tentatively explored move for Kone with fee expected to be lower than Baleba but any thought of imminent move is premature.

‘Both continue to be on a long list of targets and club not in a rush as they look at other areas to strengthen too.’

Man Utd smitten with Brighton destroyer

TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, touched on Man Utd’s situation regarding Baleba on Wednesday.

He reaffirmed Man Utd adore the Brighton destroyer after reiterating United want the third midfielder they sign to be a more defensive-minded player.

However, Bailey also highlighted a rather large disparity in how each club values Baleba. If a deal is to be made, there’ll need to be a compromise on the costs involved.

“What I am hearing is they want someone who can really help them defensively,” Bailey explained.

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365… * Chelsea, Man Utd target says ‘yes’ to Premier League transfer – but there is one problem * Five transfers to induce Newcastle meltdown include Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal, Lewis Hall to Man Utd * Marcus Rashford told the first thing he should do to win over Man Utd teammates and fans after Barcelona snub

“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.”

He went on to add: “United believe Baleba is worth somewhere around the £50m mark, especially after what they considered an inconsistent campaign. Brighton couldn’t disagree more,” continued Bailey.

“Even before Elliot Anderson became the most expensive British player ever (now surpassed by Morgan Rogers), Brighton were talking about figures well north of £75m and closer to £100m. That immediately puts him outside United’s thinking.”