The contrast inside the squad is obvious enough from the timing. Other returning players are already filtering back into Gian Piero Gasperini’s plans. Neil El Aynaoui, despite interest from several Premier League clubs, is still expected to report on 30 July and travel with the squad to Wales the next day. His status is stable. Koné’s is not.

Man United yet to accelerate

From a United perspective, this feels like familiar transfer behaviour, interest established, groundwork done, urgency missing. Clubs can monitor a player for months, but eventually they either bid or they move on. Right now, United have done neither.

Roma are also continuing work on outgoing deals elsewhere. Salah-Eddine is expected to stay behind from the Wales camp and train at Fulvio Bernardini while the club look for a buyer. That is straightforward squad management. Koné is a more significant file because the finances and timing are far tighter.

As a Manchester United supporter, this report is the sort that makes you raise an eyebrow, then sigh. Koné sounds like a player United admire, and fair enough, because there is plenty to like in his profile. He has legs, aggression, and the ability to carry the ball through midfield. Those are qualities United have lacked too often when matches turn scrappy and physical.

What is surprising is the lack of urgency. If the club have decided he is a target, then get on with it. Roma clearly have a financial reason to sell before the end of July, which usually means there is a deal to be done if you act decisively. United, though, too often behave like a club waiting for the market to solve itself.

There is also a familiar risk here. Delay long enough and the price changes, another club enters the race, or the selling side simply adjusts its plan. Then supporters are left hearing that the player was appreciated internally, which is another way of saying nothing happened.

Koné may or may not be the perfect answer, but the worst approach is half-interest. Either he improves the midfield and you move now, or you stop hovering and focus on someone else. This slow-motion routine has wasted enough windows already.

Source: Corriere Dello Sport