Man United Confidential: The surprise name added to Ruben Amorim’s list of midfield targets, Red Devils join fight to sign ‘the next Toni Kroos’ and which academy stars are heading out on loan in January

Manchester United are facing a battle with Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City to sign a world-class midfielder next summer.

United have prioritised buying a new No 6, but all three of their Premier League rivals will be shopping in the same marketplace with more money to spend. United enquired about Brighton’s Carlos Baleba and Conor Gallagher of Atletico Madrid towards the end of the summer transfer window. However, they were unable to do a deal after spending £230million on forwards Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko, as well as new goalkeeper Senne Lammens.

Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton, of Crystal Palace, will be in great demand at the end of the season, and Confidential understands United are also monitoring Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes. United are trying to drive down their wage bill – one reason the club are reluctant to extend Casemiro’s contract on £375,000-a-week – and that may put them at a disadvantage compared to City, Liverpool and Chelsea who are also likely to be able to gazump them on transfer fees. United would prefer to sign a new midfielder before the World Cup to avoid prices for individual targets soaring if they do well at the tournament, and may have to consider cheaper, emerging targets.

A January signing cannot be ruled out, and Gallagher may be an option on loan with a view to a £45m summer move. The 25-year-old is happy in Spain but has made 12 of his 16 appearances for Atletico this season off the bench, and wants to play more ahead of the World Cup.

A January deal would also allow United to explore a move for Kobbie Mainoo, who still wants to go out on loan after his request to join Napoli last summer was rejected.

Amorim is reluctant to lose any players because his squad isn’t big enough, but Mainoo has started just one game this season and, like Gallagher, wants to improve his England prospects.

Happy end to Sesko injury saga 

All’s well that ends well in the Sesko saga after Slovenia defused a potential club-versus-country row with United over the £74million striker.

Slovenia boss Matjaz Kek had threatened to cause a diplomatic incident by publicly questioning why he and his medical team had been kept in the dark over the knee injury Sesko suffered towards the end of United’s 2-2 draw at Tottenham on Saturday.

As well as demanding the medical reports, Kek would clearly have preferred his own doctors to examine Sesko and called for ‘maximum respect’ to be show to his country.

United, on the other hand, felt that they had followed all the necessary protocols, and the Slovenian FA have calmed the controversy by confirming that they have received the scan results and accept United’s decision to keep Sesko in Manchester for further treatment on an injury that is not as bad as first feared.

‘The medical team of the Slovenian national football team received the complete medical documentation from Manchester United regarding Benjamin Sesko’s health condition following his injury on Saturday, including the current clinical picture and the examinations performed,’ said a spokesperson.

‘Unfortunately, the injury currently does not allow for the training process. In the coming days, additional examinations and the start of treatment are planned at the club, so Benjamin will unfortunately not be able to participate in this national team action. We wish Benjamin a speedy recovery and a return to the football field as soon as possible.’

Pat on the back for Kone

Sekou Kone has been hard at work building himself up to full fitness after making his return to the pitch against Notts County recently.

That work has now included teaming up with first team wing-back Patrick Dorgu, with the pair taking sessions together with the same private coach.

Kone spent 84 days on the sidelines after fracturing his eye socket in the National League Cup against Tamworth. The young midfielder, who trained on a couple of occasions with the first team last week, is using the coaching of Kwaku Ohemeng.

The coach, who also counts Liverpool’s Jeremie Frimpong among his clients, put the United pair through their paces in recent days. It is useful, too, for Kone to have the support of a first-team player as he slowly builds towards integrating himself in that group.

Burnham’s final target for OT

United’s new £2billion stadium could host the 2035 Women’s World Cup final if Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has his way.

Burnham is part of the stadium taskforce driving plans to knock down Old Trafford and build a new ‘Wembley of the North’ if United can secure private funding for the project and government backing for the wider regeneration of the area around the ground.

Although a target of 2030 to complete the stadium project might be overly optimistic, Burnham believes United could host the showpiece final when the Women’s World Cup comes to these shores five years later.

‘If we really get it moving, I think there’s a fairly high likelihood that we will be hosting the women’s FIFA World Cup in 2035,’ Burnham told podcast The Added Time. ‘Imagine a final at that new Old Trafford. It would be quite something to aim for, wouldn’t it?’

Eichhorn on Reds’ radar

United are among a host of Europe’s top clubs tracking the progress of Hertha Berlin’s teenage midfielder Kennet Eichhorn, who is drawing comparisons with German great Toni Kroos.

The 16-year-old has made 10 appearances for Hertha in the Bundesliga 2 this season since he was handed his debut against Karlsruhe in August, and will have a release clause of around £10m in the summer.

Bayern Munich are expected to lead the fight to keep Eichhorn in Germany, and it’s understood that scouts from United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal have also been monitoring him along with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.

Amorim anniversary

Today marks the anniversary of Amorim’s first day in charge of United.

It’s been a rocky ride for the Portuguese coach, who at least reaches the milestone on the back of an improved run of form that has seen his team unbeaten in the last five games, winning three and drawing two.