Manu Kone
Manu Kone
Aston Villa have lost Youri Tielemans to Manchester United but could now dash the Red Devils’ hopes of signing Manu Kone.
Over the past few weeks, the France international has constantly been linked with English clubs. Sport Witness covered how Arsenal stepped forward and agreed personal terms with him.
At that point, AS Roma needed money to stay within FFP limits. Chelsea also emerged as a suitor but never made a formal offer.
Even though Roma’s FFP deadline has passed, Manchester United have remained in the picture to sign the midfielder. They have already brought in Tielemans and Andrey Santos but a third midfield signing is on the cards.
Enquiries being made
Sportmediaset report the Frenchman is increasingly likely to end up in England. He prefers a Premier League switch over anything else and Roma want to capitalise on his valuation rising because of the World Cup.
Atletico Madrid were the first to make an offer but Kone himself turned it down.
ASRomaLive offer more details, confident that Aston Villa have been keen on Kone for a while. They have made multiple enquiries about his signature and their interest has grown over time.
Roma’s asking price now stands at €60m, having previously been €40m.
Our take: Kone would be an excellent signing
The 25-year-old mirrors Tielemans’ approach on the pitch. He can play as a six and an eight and thrives on dictating the tempo of games. He also offers the ability to carry the ball forward, which is a significant bonus.
Kone has now proven himself at the highest level and that is also why Manchester United are interested.
Aston Villa perhaps need him more. Amadou Onana is expected to be out for a while. Boubakary Kamara will return later this year and Tielemans has left. They desperately need a midfielder who is versatile and can fix a lot of issues in that position.
Kone is perfect for that, and the €60m can likely be negotiated down.