Arsenal have agreed personal terms with Manu Kone as they look to sign the France World Cup midfielder from Roma. Mikel Arteta is keen to bolster his title-winning squad this summer with three or four major signings.
Speaking after Arsenal lifted the Premier League for the first time since 2004, Josh Kroenke confirmed the club’s desire to oversee another productive transfer window to keep their domestic rivals at bay. Reports claim Arsenal are interested in signing a new striker, a versatile wideman, a midfielder and a right-back.
Several midfielders have been linked with moves to the Emirates Stadium, with Arsenal known admirers of Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali and Bournemouth’s Alex Scott. Roma’s French midfielder Kone has also emerged as an Arsenal target in recent days after the Gunners cooled their interest in West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes.
Kone enjoyed another impressive season in Rome, helping the Italian club finish third in Serie A and earning himself a spot in France’s World Cup squad. The 25-year-old did not travel to the United States just to make up the numbers and is in contention to feature in France’s World Cup opener against Senegal on Tuesday night.
Italian outlet Corriere della Sera say Arsenal have already held talks with Kone’s representatives and agreed personal terms over a summer move to north London. The next step is for Arsenal to negotiate a deal with Roma, who reportedly want at least 50m euros (£43m) for the midfielder but would privately accept 45m euros (£39m).
Kone was asked about the intense speculation over his future ahead of France’s World Cup opener and said he was keen to remain ‘exclusively focused’ on his commitments with Les Bleus. ‘Honestly, right now I’m only thinking about the World Cup,’ Kone said. ‘It’s my first major international competition, a tournament I’ve always dreamed of playing in. I want to remain exclusively focused on this. We’ll talk about the future after the World Cup and see what happens.’
Ex-England defender Micah Richards recently hailed Kone as ‘outstanding’ when delivering his verdict on the France World Cup squad. ‘France with that forward line are up there too – people talk about their midfield [being weaker compared to 2018] but Kone in midfield is outstanding,’ he told Metro. ‘Zaire-Emery has excelled there and in other positions. Kante is still there and you know you are going to get hard work. With all the talent in front, you need people behind them who know what needs to be done.’
