Roma Prepares for Koné Offers as Manchester United Express Interest

The World Cup has barely slipped into the background, yet in Rome the real contest is only just beginning. Roma know Manu Koné is about to become the subject of serious offers, and Manchester United are at the front of the queue.

This is the uncomfortable part of modern football: balance sheets bite harder than sentiment. Gian Piero Gasperini has already admitted that a key player will likely have to be sacrificed to steady the club’s finances. The deadline for that sale, initially set earlier in the summer, has been pushed back to July 31. A stay of execution, not a reprieve.

Roma’s ideal solution would be to cash in on Matias Soulé. That would allow them to protect other pillars of the squad while still generating the necessary profit. The market, so far, has not cooperated. Concrete offers have been thin, and Soulé has already turned down a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia, closing off one of the more obvious escape routes.

So the spotlight swings back to Koné.

Roma value the midfielder at €55–60 million, a figure that would represent a huge “plusvalenza” given he sits at just €12 million on the club’s books. For the owners and the accountants, he is the perfect asset to move on: high demand, high upside, and a transformative impact on the financial statements.

He is also a player in demand at the very top of the European game. Manchester United are tracking him as part of a wider midfield rebuild, with Eduardo Camavinga and Alex Scott also on their radar. Chelsea have entered the picture as well, casting their net across Europe’s emerging and established midfielders in search of the right blend of power and technique.

Roma, aware of the storm building around Koné, are not standing still. If they lose him, they intend to be ready.

Attention has turned toward a group of targets linked by one common thread: BlueCo control. The Giallorossi are monitoring Frank Kessié and Khephren Thuram, both viewed as potential anchors for a midfield that may soon lose its driving force. The interest is not purely opportunistic. There is also an element of retaliation in the air after Juventus hijacked their late move for Zeki Celik, a deal Roma had hoped to close before being beaten to the punch.

Celik himself could now leave for around €40 million, another potential lever in Roma’s summer reshuffle. Every outgoing shapes the incoming. Every valuation matters.

The scouting net stretches beyond BlueCo’s stable. Celtic’s Arne Engels has made Roma’s shortlist, with a price tag understood to be in the €20–25 million range. Younger, more developmental, but with enough upside to justify the investment if a major sale goes through.

Then there is Danilo Santos of Botafogo, fresh from a World Cup with Brazil and carrying a valuation of roughly €30–35 million. He represents a different profile again: international pedigree, big-tournament experience, and the kind of physical and technical mix that tends to command serious attention in Europe.

Roma stand at a familiar crossroads for Italian clubs outside the very richest bracket. Sell smart, reinvest smarter, and hope the squad that emerges from the churn is stronger than the one that went in.

Koné may be the key that unlocks that entire plan. The only question now is who is willing to pay the price.