Since taking charge of the recruitment at Manchester United, there have been regular additions of wonderkids from across the globe. However, few have made an impact thus far.
Upon taking over Manchester United, Sir Jim Ratcliffe declared his ambitions to sign the ‘next Mbappe’, meaning to recruit stars of tomorrow before they become £100m players.
The first summer saw Chido Obi and Sekou Kone arrive, followed by Ayden Heaven in January 2025. Then Diego Leon joined from Paraguay last summer, with Cristian Orozco this summer set to be the latest.
Of these, Obi and Heaven have made their senior debuts. With Leon and Kone, less of an instant success. Leon is likely still settling into Manchester life, but for the Malian midfielder, United can’t be proud of his development.
Promising signs from Sekou Kone… what constitutes success from his loan spell?
Manchester United have failed Sekou Kone so far
United won the race for Kone ahead of Barcelona in 2024, showing just how highly regarded he was after his U17 World Cup performances for Mali earned him plenty of admirers.
Kone was considered among the most exciting teenage midfielders in world football at the time.
Kone earned Mainoo comparisons early on in life at Carrington, with his technical ability suggesting he was every bit as good as hyped to be.
However, injuries delayed his progression during the course of the 2024/25 campaign.
But in a unique opportunity, Kone starred during the post-season tour of Asia, which had supporters wondering if he would therefore earn a place in the first team for this season, given the glaring lack of depth.
Then in August 2025, Kone suffered an orbital bone injury while playing for the U21s, which kept him out for months.
Upon returning from a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Kone was shoehorned to Lausanne in a loan move, which suited neither, as the Swiss side hasn’t used him anywhere near enough.
Kone was absent from Lausanne’s Conference League squad, which was an early indicator that they weren’t completely sold on him.
Lausanne are Ineos-owned, making this blunder all the more confusing, because surely they would have known whether Kone would be playing or not when agreeing the move.
This poorly judged loan, combined with Kone not being allowed to take advantage of the momentum he had built last summer in the form of a first-team chance, is disappointing from United, highlighting that he’s been failed by the club so far.
______ is the main problem with Man United’s loan system😡
What is the cause of the consistent failures? The players, the club or the loan clubs?
Ineos planning a better loan for Kone this summer
Despite Lausanne’s failure to use Kone, he has actually had some impressive games in Switzerland.
This should see a greater field of clubs trying to sign him this summer on loan.
Now, according to The Athletic, there is now expected to be another loan arranged for Kone next season, with the report adding the requirements.
Ineos will want Kone to get more consistent game-time and be a better fit than Lausanne have been.
There should be plenty of suitors for him this summer, and United shouldn’t be afraid to let him take a back step in order to then move forwards.
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