Manu Kone Can Almost Write His Own Ticket Against England. Manchester United Is Watching.

France plays England on Saturday for third place at the World Cup. It’s a game nobody wanted to be in, but for Manu Kone it might be the most important audition of his career.

Manchester United has been circling the AS Roma midfielder for weeks. They need a defensive midfielder. They wanted Aurelien Tchouameni, but Tchouameni just signed a new deal at Real Madrid. So Plan B is Kone, and the scouting report is basically writing itself at this tournament.

Kone has started every game for France since Tchouameni went down with an injury. He’s been a brick wall in front of the back line, comfortable on the ball and even more comfortable separating guys from it. At 22 years old he already looks like he belongs on this stage, which is exactly what United needs to see before they cut a check for something around £47 million.

Here’s the thing about Saturday’s game though. Kone is going to line up across from Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, two of the best central midfielders in the Premier League. If he holds his own against those two — or better yet, if he bosses the middle of the park — United’s scouts are expected to give INEOS the green light to move fast.

This isn’t just United watching either. Aston Villa and Chelsea have both been linked with Kone. Chelsea especially could use a young, athletic six to pair with Enzo Fernandez. Villa has been looking for midfield depth since last summer. So there’s competition, and Kone knows it.

The kid isn’t stupid. He’s played his way into this position. Two years at Roma, a breakout World Cup filling in for a guy who cost Madrid something like €80 million, and now he’s got three Premier League clubs trying to figure out who blinks first. He’s going to listen to all of them.

United has an advantage if they want to use it. Kone already knows Youri Tielemans from the national team setup. Tielemans signed with United last summer and has been excellent. Andrey Santos came in January and looks like a future star. Put Kone in that group and suddenly United’s midfield goes from good to genuinely scary.

But advantage only matters if you actually act on it. United has a habit of waiting too long on transfers, and Chelsea doesn’t wait for anything. So this weekend matters. Scouts from all three clubs will be in the stands or watching the tape. Kone just has to do what he’s been doing all tournament.

If he does, the bidding war starts Monday morning.