AC Milan shift attention to Emmanuel Kone, leaving Man United free run at Youssouf Fofana | OneFootball

Manchester United have received a boost as AC Milan have begun to look at Emmanuel Koné as an alternative to AS Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana.

Fofana played 35 games last season for Monaco in all competitions, scoring four and assisting four more goals.

United have been looking for a new midfield option since they cooled their pursuit of Manuel Ugarte due to his colossal asking price set by Paris Saint-Germain.

This has seen many names thrown up on the transfer roulette wheel such as Martin Zubimendi, Sander Berge and Sofyan Amrabat.

One name that has been gaining more traction as of late is Fofana despite the fact it was assumed that AC Milan would win the race for the Frenchman. But as was relayed here yesterday, the Serie A giants fear another hijack from United just as in the Joshua Zirkzee case.

Italian reports now confirm that while Milan have not given up on Fofana, they are preparing to look at other targets, accepting a deal is far from inevitable.

Corriere dello Sport report that “Emmanuel Koné’s stock is rising for the midfield” due to “the stalemate in the negotiations for Fofana with Monaco”, which has “led the Rossoneri management to rekindle the trail for the 23-year-old from Borussia Monchengladbach.”

The Bundesliga side have also received the news that the player would like to leave.

Milan “are willing to wait” a few more days for Fofana but they are aware that the “wait-and-see strategy” carries its own risks as the rumours of United’s interest “are getting louder and louder.”

The paper states that AC Milan is still the player’s priority as of now but “the slow negotiations between clubs could make him” change his mind.

Corriere dello Sport are not the only Italian source running this story as La Gazzetta dello Sport also corroborate the interest in Kone.

They report that despite “the main road” being Fofana, the candidacy of Manu Kone is gaining ground”, who is preparing to take on Spain in the Olympic final for France.

The price of Kone is reportedly €15 million, so would likely suit AC Milan better as they have already bid €14 million for Fofana last month.

Were Milan to shift their focus to the Olympic star it would represent a major advantage for United to pull off the signing of Fofana as the club’s biggest roadblock to a deal would be removed.

Get paid to write about United! If you are an experienced writer with publishing history and/or have a journalism qualification or background, have English as your first language and you are a genuine United fan, we want to hear from you!

Click here for more details: Write for us.