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Sekou Kone trained with the Manchester United first team for the first time, earlier on Tuesday, ahead of the club’s Europa League clash against Fenerbahce.
Kone joined United in the summer from Malian side Guidars FC.
It’s believed that United had heavily scouted the highly talented midfield prospect and beat some of Europe’s elite clubs to his signature.
The Red Devils will pay a fixed sum of £1.2 million for Kone. There are also a number of performance-related bonuses included.
Kone drew attention to himself after impressing at last year’s under-17s FIFA World Cup which saw Mali beat Argentina to claim a third-place finish in the tournament.
A previous report covered by The Peoples Person relayed that Kone will be fast-tracked into the United senior team.
The 18-year-old had yet to be spotted in any official training imagery before Tuesday.
He was part of the first-team group that trained at Carrington ahead of Thursday’s high-stakes match at Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.
Kone was pictured wearing training gear with the no. 42, seemingly confirming his United squad number.
🔴🇲🇱 Manchester United summer signing Sekou Kone has trained with the first team today.
He’s developing well as Man United trust him for the future after winning race vs Ajax and more clubs to sign Kone. pic.twitter.com/J6P47x8J36
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 22, 2024
The no.42 has previously been worn by other talented youngsters at Carrington such as Alvaro Fernandez who is now at Benfica, and World Cup winner Paul Pogba.
It’s unlikely that Kone will get minutes against Fenerbahce, given that United are keen on gently easing him into the action amidst a dramatic change of scenery at such a tender age.
He is not the only starlet who took part in first-team training, with others such as Ethan Wheatley, Harry Amass and Jack Kingdon also forming part of the group.
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