Manchester United's Midfield Rebuild Faces Complications

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

INEOS’ new regime at Old Trafford has moved quickly, landing Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa. Two smart, early deals. Two pieces of a bigger plan. Michael Carrick wants a midfield capable of handling Champions League nights and sustaining a Premier League title push, not just surviving one competition at a time.

The third piece, though, is proving far more complicated.

Kone waits on Paris as United circle

Manu Kone, fresh from starring for France at the 2026 World Cup and now at AS Roma, has been high on United’s list. TEAMtalk’s transfer insider Graeme Bailey revealed on July 9 that United were working on a move, with Roma valuing the 25-year-old at around £50m.

Italian reports then pushed the story on. Corriere dello Sport detailed how talks between United and Kone’s camp had progressed, even suggesting an agreement in principle over personal terms. United, it was claimed, were preparing an offer close to €50m (£42.6m, $57m).

“Manchester United remains the club with the most potential for the deal at the moment,” the report stated, noting that agent Andrea D’Amico was waiting for a decisive move from England. The fee, they warned, might still not be enough.

Atletico Madrid, Al-Ahli and Chelsea have all been linked, but the real complication sits elsewhere.

Il Tempo reported on Friday that Kone is holding out for Paris Saint-Germain. Last season’s Ligue 1 and Champions League winners have yet to make a concrete move, yet the midfielder is understood to be waiting for a call from Luis Enrique’s side before committing his future.

SportWitness and RomaPress echoed that line: Kone is open to joining United, but his preference is clear. If PSG arrive, he wants Paris.

For United, that creates an awkward limbo. They are the club doing the groundwork, the one closest to Roma’s demands, but the player is staring at a door that has not yet opened.

Baleba: the alternative United “absolutely love”

United, though, are not standing still. While Kone weighs up his options, INEOS have another powerful runner in mind: Carlos Baleba.

The Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder has been admired at Old Trafford for some time. United pushed to sign him last season, only to walk away when Brighton’s valuation soared past £100m. The 22-year-old Cameroon international was simply priced out of reach.

The admiration has not faded.

On July 21, Bailey outlined United’s stance: “What I am hearing is they want someone who can really help them defensively. In an ideal world they’d just sign Carlos Baleba. They absolutely love his game.”

United, according to that briefing, see Baleba as an “outstanding fit” despite what they judged to be an inconsistent campaign. Internally, they value him at around £50m.

Brighton see it very differently. Even before Elliot Anderson briefly became the most expensive British player ever – a mark later surpassed by Morgan Rogers – the south coast club were already talking about figures “well north of £75m and closer to £100m.”

That kind of price immediately pushed Baleba outside United’s thinking. The admiration remains; the numbers don’t.

Yet his name has never left the conversation. On July 23, Sky Sports reported that Baleba and Kone are the two midfield options “being strongly considered” by United as they shape Carrick’s engine room.

A defining call for INEOS

So the picture is clear enough. United have already added technical security and experience in Santos and Tielemans. They now want a third midfielder with defensive bite, physical presence and the legs to patrol big European nights.

Kone offers that, but he is stalling for PSG. Baleba offers it too, but Brighton are demanding a fee that would smash United’s current valuation.

INEOS must decide whether to wait on a player who is gazing towards Paris, or to test Brighton’s resolve for a midfielder they “absolutely love” but cannot justify at nine figures.

For a club trying to prove this new era is defined by clarity and conviction, not drift and compromise, how they solve this midfield puzzle will say as much as any signing they actually make.