Sekou Kone impressed for Lausanne with his latest substitute appearance, against Lugano.
Manchester United youth prospect Sekou Kone’s loan move took a step in the right direction with his latest performance at the weekend.
Sekou Kone signed on loan for Lausanne at the winter deadline, but his spell has got off to a bumpy start. The midfielder was surprisingly left out of their Europa Conference League squad.
Kone is moving past this disappointment and is contributing to the Swiss side’s league campaign. His latest display was a useful one.
Sekou Kone LEFT OUT of Lausanne’s Conference League squad 📉 Are Ineos to blame?
… or does Kone need to show more to the coaching staff and learn there are no free passes? 🚫
Sekou Kone shows promise
Sekou Kone was named on the bench for Lausanne’s away trip to third placed Lugano. With his side in ninth place, it was set up as a tough game.
Kone was brought on in the 64th minute of the game with Lugano 2-0 up.
Making only his second professional appearance, Kone helped Lausanne to get back into the game, eventually losing 2-1.
Kone was lively during his spell, managing 31 touches in 26 minutes, creating one goalscoring chance.
He completed 87 per cent of his passes (20/23 total), also managing two interceptions.
It was useful showing from Kone, whose only previous appearance came when his side were 5-1 down. He played only 10 minutes.
This was the kind of display from the 20-year-old that showed his value, and should have demonstrated to Lausanne that they made a mistake leaving him out of their Europa Conference League squad.
They drew the first leg of their knockout playoff 1-1 against Czech side Sigma Olomouc.
Kone is doing his best to move forward regardless and help Lausanne’s league campaign, and this promising showing will have put him nearer to making his first start.
Promising signs from Sekou Kone… what constitutes success from his loan spell?
Enzo Kana-Biyik update
Manchester United loanee Enzo Kana-Biyik is also on loan at Lausanne. Like Kone, he was brought on as a second half substitute against Lugano.
Kana-Biyik was lively, attempting three shots at goal, two of which were blocked, with the third forcing the goalkeeper into a save.
The 19-year-old has one goal in 415 minutes this season, with his last start coming on December 21. He is in their Europa Conference League squad, but was an unused substitute in the last game in the competition.
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