Manchester United are set to make their first summer singing with a Franco-Cameroonian talent from a footballing dynasty.
With the end of a disappointing season in sight, Manchester United are making summer transfer plans to ensure a more successful 2025/26 season.
Ruben Amorim’s main issue since taking over at United has been scoring goals, particularly in the Premier League. Having only scored 38 goals in 33 games they would need 11 more in their final five fixtures to level their current worst goal return for a Premier League season.
This lack of attacking output has seen United act quickly in attempts to sign Wolves talisman Matheus Cunha and Championship bound Liam Delap.
Both players have impressed in the Premier League this season with Cunha’s 18 goal involvements being instrumental in keeping Wolves out of the relegation battle and Delap’s 14 goal involvements being a shining light in a poor Ipswich side.
It would now seem that United might bring in another promising attacker before either of these deals have been completed. Benjamin Quarez from LeParisian has reported that 18 year-old Enzo Kana-Biyik is in “very advanced discussions with Manchester United” to become the club’s first signing of the summer.
Who is Kana-Biyik?
Kana-Biyik’s family name is a part of a Cameroonian footballing dynasty. His father André Kana-Biyik has the eighth-most international caps for Cameroon and his uncle, François Omam-Biyik, has the ninth and has gone on to coach Andre Onana as the African side’s assistant coach. Kana-Biyik also has a brother in the PSG U17s team.
The Franco-Cameroonian has spent all of his youth career at Le Havre where his father and older brother, Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik, both played.
The Ligue 1 side want to keep Kana-Biyik at the club but are currently failing to convince him to stay. As things stand, Le Havre sit in 16th place and will have to endure a relegation play-off to avoid dropping down to Ligue 2.
Having not featured for Le Havre’s first team this season, Kana-Biyik has been impressing as a center-forward for the club’s U19s side.
In the Championnat National U19, he has managed nine goal involvements in 14 appearances. Kana-Biyik’s current form will certainly have impressed United scouts as in his last six games, he has scored four goals and assisted another.
INEOS’s youth development plans
LeParisian have reported that there is a clear development plan in place for Kana-Biyik. Although he will likely sign for United this summer, he would be sent out on loan to FC Lausanne-Sport in Switzerland. Lausanne is another club owned by INEOS so he would be developed under Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s sporting structure.
INEOS have demonstrated this approach with players before. United midfield target Dan Ndoye underwent a similar trajectory as a part of the INEOS set up when he was loaned back to Lausanne from INEOS’s French side, Nice.
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INEOS clearly have an interest in bringing in young players. Ayden Heaven, Chido Obi Martin, Sekou Kone and Diego Leon have all already been signed by the club since the minority takeover. The club has also been linked to signing young Malaian talent Soungalo Coulibaly in the summer, so there is clearly a long-term plan in place for youth development.
It will take some time to find out whether or not Kana-Biyik will be a success at Manchester United, he might not be seen playing in red until the start of the 2026/27 season. However, it is a positive sign for INEOS’ ambitions for the club in terms of youth development and given his footballing lineage, there’s a good chance he turns into a successful transfer.
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