Man Utd allow Man City to complete £51m signing after Adam Wharton rejection

Manchester United have stepped aside and paved the way for Manchester City to complete a £51m signing after Enzo Maresca’s side came up short for Adam Wharton.

The biggest changes at Man City this summer, at least regarding the playing personnel, are coming in midfield.

Bernardo Silva joined Real Madrid via free agency, Rodri was sold to Barcelona and Tijjani Reijnders has just moved to Saudi Arabia by way of Al-Qadsiah.

Furthermore, Nico Gonzalez is a genuine candidate to go too, with Newcastle in talks to sign the rarely-used midfielder.

Accordingly, further reinforcements beyond just Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi are required.

Maresca would love to reunite with Enzo Fernandez who he managed at Stamford Bridge.

City aren’t ruling out a late play for the Argentine despite Chelsea insisting they won’t sell after their soft deadline for a £120m sale passed without any takers stepping forward at 5pm last Friday.

Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton is another City like, and per David Ornstein, the club launched an enquiry into his signing.

However, the trusted reporter also revealed on Thursday that Palace have made it crystal clear Wharton isn’t going anywhere in the final 10 days of the window.

That forces City to explore alternatives, and according to the Daily Mail, they’re looking into signing a player Man Utd took a pass on.

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Man City can sign Manu Kone after Man Utd get Carlos Baleba

The Mail stated: ‘Manchester City have identified Roma’s Manu Kone as a potential signing in their revamped midfield.’

After noting Roma’s valuation of Kone is €60m / £51m, the report added: ‘Both Chelsea and Manchester United have been linked with the former Borussia Monchengladbach man.

‘Daily Mail Sport last month revealed how United had spoken to his representatives, but they are now swooping for Brighton’s Carlos Baleba.’

As mentioned, Man Utd eyed Roma’s Kone in this window and even held talks, though ultimately, they’ve chosen to ignore the France international and sign Carlos Baleba from Brighton instead.

An initial bid worth £65m (£60m plus £5m in add-ons) was rejected by the Seagulls.

However, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano brought news of United ramping up a fresh round of talks today (Thursday), and the expectation is those negotiations will yield a club-to-club agreement. TEAMtalk understands the final fee is shaping up to be around £70m.

With Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos already banked, United’s midfield rebuild will be deemed complete once Baleba arrives.

As such, Man City now have a clearer run at landing Kone as part of City’s own midfield overhaul.

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