The Sports Guru
With Andrey Santos signed and Youri Tielemans through his medical, reporting from The Athletic and the Talk of the Devils podcast points to Manchester United still wanting a third midfielder before the rebuild is finished. This covers who is actually still in the frame, who has already been ruled out, and why the two leading names both carry complications.
Manchester United's midfield rebuild is not finished with two names. Having paid Chelsea £48m plus £2m in add-ons for Santos and activated Tielemans' £35m release clause at Aston Villa, with the Belgian's Carrington medical understood to have taken place on Tuesday, United are said to be weighing up a third addition, described by The Athletic's Laurie Whitwell as a "premium midfielder" to genuinely elevate the side. The two names doing the rounds carry a similar price tag, Real Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni and Brighton's Carlos Baleba, both valued in the region of £70m, though neither move looks straightforward.
Two names already out of the running
Some of the noise has already been quietened. Asked directly on the Talk of the Devils podcast whether United would move for Roma's Manu Kone, host Carl Anka was unambiguous. "Manu Kone is NOT on Manchester United's shortlist," he said. Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton has cooled off too. Whitwell reported that Palace are using the Anderson fee, the price Elliot Anderson commanded when United lost out on him elsewhere, as their own valuation gauge for Wharton, and that internally "it doesn't feel like that one is warm." Bournemouth's Alex Scott remains admired, in Athletic reporter David Ornstein's words, but the Cherries are said to regard him as not for sale "at any price." That leaves the choice, on the reporting available, sitting between two players United have circled before.
Baleba's price has finally moved
United agreed personal terms with Baleba as far back as last summer, only to be put off by Brighton's £100m valuation. That figure has reportedly dropped to around £70m, which Whitwell suggested could be enough to draw United back into talks. His own reporting also carried a caveat worth taking seriously. "It felt like a lot of work was being done previously for Baleba. That's gone quiet," he said, adding that United could instead choose to "reactivate" interest closer to the deadline rather than move now. That is not the language of an imminent bid. It is the language of a club keeping a door open rather than walking through it.
Why Tchouameni is not as settled at Real Madrid as it looks
Tchouameni signing a new contract at Real Madrid would ordinarily end that conversation. Athletic writer Andy Mitten reported a different picture from within the club, relaying a text from a Madrid contact sent after the new deal was signed: "They could still sell him." It is a single line from a single source, and Mitten himself only committed to trying to find out more. It is still enough to keep Tchouameni's name in the same sentence as Baleba's rather than closing it off. Ornstein, for his part, was clear that United's overall plan has not changed. "I expect one more midfielder, which has always been the plan," he said on The Athletic FC Podcast, adding that United "have quite a clear vision" and would likely want a player who can "cover ground" alongside the profiles already signed.
Verdict: a rebuild with one seat still open
What is notable here is how little of this is confirmed and how much of it is still triangulation between well-sourced reporters describing the same shortlist from slightly different angles. Kone is out. Wharton has gone cold. Scott is not for sale. That leaves Baleba and Tchouameni as the two names left standing, one whose price has finally come down to United's level, the other whose new contract may not be the closed door it appears to be. Ornstein even left the door ajar on Ederson, whose stalled move to United he said "isn't happening in its current guise", stopping short of ruling it out altogether. A club that has already signed two midfielders this summer clearly still wants a third, and on this reporting, it does not yet know which name will fill that seat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Reporting points to Carlos Baleba and Aurelien Tchouameni as the leading names, both valued at around £70m. Manu Kone has been ruled out, Adam Wharton's move has reportedly gone cold, and Bournemouth are said to have made Alex Scott unavailable at any price.
United agreed personal terms with Baleba last summer before being put off by Brighton's £100m demand. That price has reportedly dropped to around £70m, and Athletic reporter Laurie Whitwell has suggested United could revisit the move closer to the transfer deadline rather than immediately.
Tchouameni has signed a new contract at Real Madrid, but a report relayed by journalist Andy Mitten suggested a Madrid contact indicated he could still be sold. This is a single, unconfirmed line rather than an established transfer path.
Not according to reporting from David Ornstein, who said United still expect to sign one more midfielder after Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, describing it as the plan the club has held all along.
Sources: Reporting from The Athletic (David Ornstein, Laurie Whitwell, Andy Mitten) and the Talk of the Devils podcast (Carl Anka), as carried by TeamTalk.
