\t\t\t6<\/i><\/p>\n
Manchester United have taken an important step towards winning the race for AS Roma midfielder Manu Kone, but face increasing threat from the Saudi Pro League, according to the latest report from Italy.<\/p>\n
Agreement in principle<\/h5>\n
With \u00a385 million already spent on Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, Manchester United remain in the hunt for a third midfielder at the request of Michael Carrick.<\/p>\n
The departure of Casemiro to MLS side Inter Miami, albeit in somewhat controversial fashion, has been exacerbated by Manuel Ugarte sustaining a serious knee injury at the World Cup with Uruguay. He is likely to miss most, if not all, of next season.<\/p>\n
This leaves Kobbie Mainoo as the sole option in the engine room at Old Trafford, though Carrick looks ready to deploy Mason Mount in a deeper role after an impressive cameo in the 1-0 defeat to Wrexham on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Kone, 25, has emerged as a priority target over the past month, with his impressive performances for France continuing his fine form for Roma last season. Indeed, Patrick Vieira even went as far as hailing the 25-year-old as the \u201cbest midfielder in France\u201d, beating out Real Madrid superstar Aurelien Tchouameni \u2013 a dream target for the Red Devils.<\/p>\n
Manu Kone Stats: 2025\/26 Season<\/h2>\n
| Competition<\/th>\n | Appearances<\/th>\n | Starts<\/th>\n | Goals<\/th>\n | Assists<\/th>\n | Yellow Cards<\/th>\n | Red Cards<\/th>\n | Minutes Played<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serie A<\/td>\n | 29<\/td>\n | 28<\/td>\n | 2<\/td>\n | 3<\/td>\n | 2<\/td>\n | –<\/td>\n | 2,459′<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| UEFA Europa League<\/td>\n | 7<\/td>\n | 5<\/td>\n | –<\/td>\n | –<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n | –<\/td>\n | 266′<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Italy Cup<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n | 0<\/td>\n | –<\/td>\n | –<\/td>\n | –<\/td>\n | –<\/td>\n | 33′<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n |
| Total<\/th>\n | 37<\/th>\n | 33<\/th>\n | 2<\/th>\n | 3<\/th>\n | 3<\/th>\n | –<\/th>\n | 2,758′<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tfoot>\n<\/table>\n Roma are understood to be asking for around \u00a350 million for their box-to-box dynamo. A report relayed by The Peoples Person<\/em> claims INEOS are uncertain whether they have the will or the financial muscle to meet this figure.<\/p>\n However, Corriere dello Sport now reveals United\u2019s hierarchy have \u201creached an agreement in principle\u201d with Kone\u2019s representatives. It is said \u201ccontacts with the player\u2019s entourage are ongoing\u201d, while Roma\u2019s sporting director is awaiting a \u201cdecisive move\u201d from his English counterparts.<\/p>\n The Italian newspaper further states United are ready to \u201cput an offer close to \u20ac50 million (\u00a342m) on the table.\u201d This \u201cmay not be enough\u201d, however, as the Giallorossi are pushing for more.<\/p>\n If Manchester United were alone in their admiration of Kone, Roma\u2019s negotiating position would be much weaker. But talented players, particularly in central midfield who are yet to enter their prime, will always be hot commodities.<\/p>\n Atletico Madrid are one suitor, with the Spanish heavyweights having seen a \u00a334 million offer rejected a couple of weeks ago. Kone is understood to prefer a move to the Premier League over La Liga, but Diego Simeone\u2019s side have \u201cnot definitively given up\u201d, Corriere dello Sport reveals.<\/p>\n A host of United\u2019s rivals in England, including Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool, have all been credited with interest in the Frenchman. Nonetheless, the report states the Red Devils are \u201cmost likely\u201d to table a bid.<\/p>\n However, the greatest threat now posed to the 20-time league champions comes from Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli, who are said to have \u201cinitiated initial discussions with both Roma and the player\u2019s entourage to assess the deal\u2019s margins and feasibility.\u201d<\/p>\n It is claimed this interest could \u201csoon become something much more concrete\u201d if Kone signals his openness to a switch to the Middle East. A report from Sky Sport Switzerland<\/em> yesterday indicated his preference remains England, but he would explore offers \u2013 which would dwarf any he receives in Europe \u2013 from Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n Stylistically, Kone\u2019s combination of speed, size and strength is exactly what Manchester United\u2019s midfield unit lacks. At 25, he is yet to enter his prime, while his transfer fee and wage demands will be cheaper than those of other targets in the Premier League. The fact that the Colombes native has reached an agreement over personal terms amid the embarrassment of riches on offer from the Saudi Pro League also indicates his desire to complete a switch to Old Trafford.<\/p>\n Kone ticks a significant number of INEOS\u2019 boxes this summer, even if a chequered injury history and the recent experiences of signing players from Serie A may give the United hierarchy pause for thought. Should they delay too long, however, then Al-Ahli look ready to strike with the level of certainty only the wealth of a petrostate provides.<\/p>\n Featured image Paolo Bruno via Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n The Peoples Person has been one of the world\u2019s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 6 Manchester United have taken an important step towards winning the race for AS Roma…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} |
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thepeoplesperson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/affiliate-christmas-campaign-25-1500x300-en-uk-min.png\")
<\/p>\n