Manchester United have reached an agreement with Malian club Guidars FC to sign burgeoning young midfielder Sekou Kone.
According to Fabrizio Romano, United will pay £1million for Sekou Kone, who will join the club before transfer deadline day from the Malian club.
Kone shone bright for Guidars FC in the Malian lower division. Born on September 3, 2006, he made more waves and attracted interest from Manchester United following his brilliant 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup campaign with The Eagles of Mali.
Playing as a defensive midfielder, Kone made seven appearances for the team, providing two assists. His most exciting quality was his ball-carrying abilities, including his playmaking role.
He played a big role as the team saw off Argentina in the competition’s third-place play-off to win the Bronze medal.
According to Manchester Evening News, Sekou Kone will be placed in the Manchester United U-21 team, where he is expected to continue honing his footballing skills before being promoted to the first team.
The youngster is the second high-profile player that is set to join Manchester United this summer after Chido Obi-Martins from Arsenal.
Kone is not a scoring midfielder, but United scouts and technical crew reportedly hold him in high esteem for his immense talent and capacity in the midfield. Sources close to the club have revealed Kone will be allowed to join Manchester United first team training at Carrington while still grooming his career with the U-21s.
He will work closely with United U-21 coach Travis Binnion, who will monitor his progress concurrently with first team manager Erik ten Hag to ensure his speedy integration into the Manchester United senior squad.
The signing of Sekou Kone is coming when the likes of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen near the end of their spells with Manchester United. While the youngster will not be immediately brought into first team action, he is obviously a priority replacement option for the aforementioned midfielders in the near future.
Manchester City sign Divin Mubama from West Ham United
Manchester United cross-city rivals Manchester City have also added a youngster to their pool of talents. The Premier League champions have signed Divin Mubama from domestic rivals West Ham United.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Divin Mubama is joining the Manchester-based outfit for £1.2m and is expected to be added to the club’s academy stars despite his first-team experience.
The Newham-born forward is a West Ham United Academy graduate, having been at the club at the age of nine in 2013. He was promoted to the first team in 2022 but has spent a large part of his career with the club’s youth teams, with just eight Premier League appearances.
Divin Saku has played for England at U-15, U-16, U-18, U-19, and U-20 levels and had a quite brilliant short senior career with West Ham United. He made the 2023 Europa Conference League and was named the club’s young player of the season that year. With the youth team, Mubama won the 2018 FA Youth Cup and the U-18 Premier League.
He is City’s third signing this summer after the arrival of Savinho from Troyes and the return of IIkay Gundogan from Barcelona.
