Sekou Kone is one of the most highly-rated prospects at Manchester United after joining for £1million last summer and now the club are ready to give him some valuable minutes on loan to boost his development
Manchester United could loan out youngster Sekou Kone this summer, reports claim, just a year after the talented youngster arrived at Old Trafford. Kone was signed from Malian club Guidars FC for around £1million by Erik ten Hag and there are high hopes for the midfielder.
The 19-year-old is yet to appear for the United senior side but was included in Ruben Amorim's squad for their post-season tour of Asia, coming on as a substitute in both games against Asean All Stars and Hong Kong.
Kone was introduced in the 32nd minute for Casemiro in the 1-0 loss to Asean All Stars before being hooked again for Toby Collyer at half time. Amorim used a similar tactic against Hong Kong to stagger his game time, bringing him on in the 27th minute before subbing him again at the interval, with Manuel Ugarte replacing him.
Kone has also been named on the bench by Amorim on a handful of occasions in the Premier League against Tottenham in February and against Everton and Forest.
Now United are eager for him to pick up more minutes to get him up to speed at the highest level and are ready to sanction a loan move for the exciting prospect, according to the Manchester Evening News.
The report claims the club have placed Kone on their list of players who are available for loan ahead of the 2025-26 season, after initially taking his first steps at United in the Under-21 side.
He played nine times in the Premier League 2 for United's youth team, scoring once. His Under-21 coach Travis Binnion recently commented on his progress, admitting he struggled for fitness at first but is now at the level where he can play a string of games each week.
Binnion admitted Kone still had "a long way to go" before he was ready for first team action under Amorim but remained upbeat over his future prospects.
"We have a long way to go," he told MEN in April. "He broke down at Huddersfield, whereas now he can get through three games in a week. At the next level, first-team level, he wouldn’t be able to because he’s not quite there yet, but his decision-making will make that easier for him physically.
"If he’s not in the right position or he makes the wrong decision, the game then opens up and it’s harder to be consistently in the right positions. It’s a long-term project with him, but his ability is there for all to see.
"I think the position he plays in on the pitch requires a lot of discipline, and we’re working on that discipline and decision-making. He is a really good player, but you can see tonight he’s had three, four or five shots and it’s like, there aren’t too many No.6s who are getting into the areas he is.
"You don’t want to stifle that completely, but if he’s not in the right area of the pitch, then it’s harder for the team to function and it’s harder for him to develop, so he’s working really hard through training and language support."