How Sekou Kone performed on Manchester United U21 debut vs Sunderland

Sekou Kone made his debut for Manchester United’s under-21s side on Saturday afternoon against Sunderland’s youth team.

Manchester United made an exciting change in the summer by recruiting the exciting 18-year-old midfield talent, Sekou Kone, from Guidars FC in Mali.

The reported £1 million signing was the perfect example of the kind of player United have missed in the past.

Moisés Caicedo signed for Chelsea for £115 million around three years after United had been scouting him at Independiente del Valle.

Kone, who shone at the U17 World Cup last year, represented a low-risk and high reward deal that those at Old Trafford have missed far too often before the INEOS regime shook things up.

Fans have been excited about the defensive-midfielder since he joined the club, but after an interrupted summer, he has been undergoing a pre-season at Carrington.

The 18-year-old has also been getting used to new surroundings in Manchester but finally made his debut for the Under-21s this weekend.

Kone was named on the bench against Sunderland’s U21s on Saturday afternoon and came on for Finley McAllister in the 71st minute of the game.

The young Reds were already 5-2 down at that point and were unable to claw their way back into the game, with the game finishing 5-2 in the end.

While the match was not broadcast live on MUTV for fans to view it, U21s manager Travis Binnion provided an overview of affairs at full-time.

He explained that many of the players in the team are still ‘learning on the job’ – a lot of them were regulars in the Under-18s last term and have since made the difficult step up.

Meanwhile, in a brief overview of Kone’s debut performance, Binnion was complimentary of the ‘really bright’ midfielder. He also praised Ethan Wheatley, Jacob Devaney and Tyler Fredricson.

“They were the better team today. We struggled and got overrun in the first half. We had a few players in different positions because we’re managing minutes for a few players and Sunderland played the game in the right way. They had intensity,” Binnion told club media.

“We played PSV the other night and played well, we did okay at Newcastle last week, but we’ve been found wanting a little bit here.

“We could have come in 3-3 at half-time — we carried a threat — but it would have masked some problems. They were well worth their lead.

“We started the second half really well but we turned the ball over and they went the other end and scored. We had chances after that but 5-2 is a fair reflection of the game.

“I thought Wheatley and Fredricson coming on at half-time did very well, and Sekou Kone was really bright when he came on. Jacob Devaney did well in midfield as well.

“Some of these players are learning on the job and that’s what it’s there for. The U21s level is very different to U18s football when the opposition do it right, when they play with tempo and intensity. Sunderland did that, so credit to them and plenty to learn for our boys today.”

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