Roma Prepares for Manu Koné Bids as Manchester United Leads
The World Cup has disappeared into the background, but in Rome the real pressure is only just starting. Roma are preparing for a summer in which Manu Koné could become the club’s next major sale, with Manchester United at the front of the queue and Chelsea lurking in the same lane.
La Gazzetta dello Sport report that the Giallorossi hierarchy have already begun drawing up contingency plans. They know what’s coming.
Financial clock ticking in Rome
Gian Piero Gasperini has already laid out the reality: one key player will almost certainly have to go to balance the books. The deadline to deliver that sale has been pushed back by a month, to July 31, but the extension changes little. It only stretches the tension.
Roma’s ideal scenario would be to cash in on Matias Soulé. That would allow them to keep Koné, protect the core of the midfield and still hit their financial targets. The market has not played along. Concrete offers for Soulé have been thin, and his refusal to accept a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia has closed off the easiest escape route.
So attention swings back to Koné.
Roma value the midfielder at €55–60 million. On the pitch, he has become central. On the balance sheet, he is gold. His book value sits at just €12 million, so any sale at the current asking price would generate a huge capital gain, exactly the kind of operation the club’s accountants are demanding.
Manchester United lead chase for Koné
That price tag has not scared off the Premier League. Manchester United are tracking Koné closely, with the Frenchman high on a shortlist that also includes Eduardo Camavinga and Alex Scott. United want legs, energy and personality in midfield; Koné offers all three, and Roma know it.
Chelsea are in the mix as well. Their recruitment department have been scouring the same profile for months: young, dynamic midfielders who can grow into long-term pillars. Koné fits the model, and the London club’s interest only strengthens Roma’s position at the negotiating table.
Roma’s counter-move: Kessié, Thuram and more
If Koné leaves, Roma cannot afford to stand still. Plans are already in motion.
The club are monitoring Frank Kessié and Khephren Thuram, both under the wider BlueCo umbrella. They see them as potential answers after Juventus snatched Zeki Celik at the last moment, a move that stung in the capital and underlined how quickly a transfer window can turn.
Celik himself could now be sacrificed for around €40 million, another piece in a complex financial puzzle. Every outgoing deal shapes what Roma can attempt next.
Beyond the BlueCo options, the scouting net stretches further. Celtic’s Arne Engels is on the list, with a price tag in the region of €20–25 million. So is Botafogo’s Danilo Santos, fresh from Brazil’s World Cup squad and valued at roughly €30–35 million.
Different leagues, different profiles, one common theme: Roma are preparing for life after a major sale.
The question now is not whether the offers arrive for Manu Koné. It’s which bid Roma decide they can no longer afford to refuse.
