Pressure mounts as INEOS faces a tight July 31st cutoff to finalize a deal for the Roma star, with UEFA financial regulations forcing a high-stakes decision.
Manchester United's search for midfield reinforcements has been far from straightforward this summer, after missing out on several ambitious pursuits. Moves for Elliot Anderson, Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali all failed to materialise, leaving the club forced to reassess its plans.
There was optimism when United struck an agreement with Atalanta for Éderson, seemingly putting an end to their hunt for a new midfielder. However, the proposed transfer broke down after issues emerged during the Brazilian's medical, prompting the club to abandon the deal for the time being. Despite the setback, reports indicate United have not completely ruled out revisiting the move before the transfer window closes.
Following a difficult opening to the market, the Reds bounced back well and strengthened Michael Carrick's midfield with two significant signings in rapid succession. The first was highly-rated Brazilian youngster Andrey Santos, who arrived from Chelsea in a package worth £48 million up front, with a further £2 million tied to performance-based bonuses. As part of the agreement, Chelsea also negotiated a 10% sell-on clause.
United wasted little time adding another proven option, triggering Youri Tielemans' £35 million release clause to bring the Belgian midfielder to Old Trafford from Aston Villa. The deal marked the club's second midfield signing in quick succession, providing a major boost after an underwhelming start to their summer recruitment.
After impressing at the World Cup, Manu Koné has been linked with a move away from Italy this summer, with Manchester United emerging as the club leading the race for the 25-year-old's signature.
With a previous report indicating that United had an agreement in principle with Roma for the signing, INEOS have seemingly been quite relaxed about the transfer for the midfielder, as they continue to negotiate the fee.
A report by Corriere dello Sport indicated that Roma would like Manchester United to complete the signing of their star midfielder due to the terms of a financial settlement agreement with UEFA.
The report stated: "The club would like to complete a transfer by July 31st to meet the parameters of the settlement agreement, the deadline for which has been extended by UEFA until the end of the month."
Roma's agreement means they must sell one star player this summer to comply with the regulations, and UEFA has already extended their deadline, as frustrations continue to grow in Italy's capital.
At the risk of an £8.5-13 million fine, Roma had already sounded out possible departures, but Koné has been identified as the best option to sell this summer, as Roma look to get a deal done as soon as possible, as a sale would add much-needed funds so they can proceed with their transfer business.
There is concern, however, that United could pull the plug on a potential deal if other marquee midfield targets become available.
Despite all reports indicating that Aurélien Tchouaméni will stay at Real Madrid this summer, after signing a new deal and expressing his desire to stay in Spain, Madrid's strong links with a move for Manchester City's Rodri could cause a major domino effect, which could see the Frenchman be at Old Trafford by the start of the Premier League season.