Manchester United's Midfield Rebuild: Kone and Baleba Targets

Manchester United’s midfield rebuild has hit its first snag of the summer – and it comes from Paris.

INEOS, now driving the club’s recruitment alongside Michael Carrick, have already moved decisively for Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa. Two deals done, two profiles added. But the plan was always bigger than that. United want a third midfielder, someone who can anchor a side expected to compete in the Champions League and at least live in the same postcode as the Premier League title race.

On paper, Manu Kone looked like the next piece.

Kone waits on Paris

United’s interest in the AS Roma midfielder has been no secret. Earlier this month, TEAMtalk’s transfer insider Graeme Bailey revealed that the club had identified Kone as a major target and were preparing a move. Roma’s stance was equally clear: £50m for a player who shone for France at the 2026 World Cup.

Italian reports then cranked up the noise. Corriere dello Sport detailed ongoing talks, claiming United had already reached an agreement in principle on personal terms with the 25-year-old and were readying a bid close to €50m (£42.6m, $57m). The message from Italy was blunt: Manchester United remain the club “with the most potential for the deal” and Kone’s agent, Andrea D’Amico, is waiting for a decisive offer from England.

But there is a complication. A Parisian one.

According to Il Tempo, Kone is holding out for Paris Saint-Germain. The report, relayed by SportWitness and RomaPress, states that while the midfielder is open to the idea of joining United, he is still hoping last season’s Ligue 1 and Champions League winners will pick up the phone.

As of now, Luis Enrique’s side have not made a concrete move. No bid, no formal approach. Just the lure of the European champions and the possibility – in Kone’s mind – that they might arrive late and blow the field away.

For United, it leaves an awkward pause. They are the club doing the groundwork, the ones edging towards Roma’s valuation, yet the player is effectively waiting to see if PSG decide he is their man.

Baleba: the other obsession

United, though, are not betting everything on Kone.

Behind the scenes, Carlos Baleba has never really left their radar. The Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder wanted the move to Old Trafford last season, but the numbers were absurd. Brighton were talking about more than £100m for the 22-year-old Cameroon international, a figure that instantly killed any realistic prospect of a deal.

The admiration, however, never faded.

“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.”

United’s recruitment team still see a player who, even after what they view as an inconsistent campaign, would fit Carrick’s plans. Their internal valuation sits around the £50m mark. Brighton’s stance is very different.

“Brighton couldn’t disagree more,” Bailey added. Even before Elliot Anderson briefly became the most expensive British player ever – a record since overtaken by Morgan Rogers – Brighton were already talking about figures well north of £75m and closer to £100m. That kind of price immediately pushes Baleba outside United’s thinking.

The admiration is real. The deal, at those numbers, is not.

Two names at the top of the list

Sky Sports reported on July 23 that Kone and Baleba are the two midfielders being “strongly considered” by United. Two profiles, two difficult negotiations, two very different problems.

With Kone, the fee is high but not outrageous; the issue is the shadow of PSG and a player whose first choice is clear. With Baleba, the desire is mutual but Brighton’s valuation turns a serious pursuit into a non-starter.

Carrick and INEOS want a midfielder who can stiffen United’s spine, protect a defence that has been too exposed for too long, and allow their more expressive players to operate higher up the pitch. The targets fit that brief. The market, as ever, does not make it easy.

United have already moved with purpose this summer. Now comes the hard part: turning strong interest in Kone or Baleba into a deal that actually lands – before someone else, or the price, makes the decision for them.