Manchester United could be about to see one of their January transfer experiments pay off, with one of their loan stars blowing away coaches in training of late.
Manchester United’s 2026 winter transfer window deadline day passed with little first-team activity. Michael Carrick’s side made no new signings, with the only late drama coming from the collapse of Tyrell Malacia’s proposed move to Turkey.
However, United did confirm that five Academy players had secured loan moves elsewhere, three of which will keep them within the English football pyramid.
James Scanlon, widely regarded as being too advanced for Academy level, has joined League Two side Swindon Town on loan, while Gabriele Biancheri will gain League One experience with Rotherham United.
Jacob Devaney is set to spend the remainder of the season at Scottish Premiership outfit St Mirren, and Ethan Wheatley has completed a loan move to Bradford City. Sekou Kone then joined Swiss side FC Lausanne-Sport until the end of the season.
Kone already blowing coaches away
Of the five loans mentioned above, Devaney has quite possibly had the best early start, with his debut for St. Mirren on Tuesday evening hailed as an “absolutely superb” display during a stunning 1-0 win over league leaders, Hearts.
However, Kone is not far behind. Kone’s loan to the INEOS-owned Swiss outfit was one that all saw coming, with the Mali youth international having trained with the side for a number of weeks before the move became official.
According to MailSport, Lausanne Sport are ‘absolutely over the moon’ at being able to secure the midfielder, with coaches ‘blown away’ with his technical ability both on the ball and his ball-winning abilities.
As mentioned above, Lausanne are also owned by United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, with young striker Enzo Kana-Biyik also on loan at the side. Both moves are said to be seen as a bit of an experiment and ‘a litmus test’ for a longer working relationship between the two clubs with respect to player development.
The early signs of Kone’s talent in training and reports of a positive debut for Kana-Biyik before his injury suggest that the United-Lausanne experiment could be about to pay off.
United are beginning to make better loan decisions
In the last decade or so, United have been pretty poor at selecting where their young Academy stars head out on loan – if at all. Before this campaign, the only successful loan United have had in recent times has been Amad’s at Sunderland.
Read More: Former Premier League chief executive names two Casemiro replacements for Manchester United
However, this season has seen several of their young stars move up the English pyramid and thrive. Radek Vitek has been stunning in goal with Bristol City in the Championship. Harry Amass spent six months at Sheffield Wednesday and won their player of the month award twice.
Unfortunately for Amass, after his six-month deal with Wednesday expired, United then sent him to Northwich, but he sustained a hamstring injury and returned to United for assessment.
Even lower down, Wheatley was doing very well with Northampton Town before United decided he would be best playing for a better League One side in Bradford. With Kone and Deveney now shining in Scotland and Switzerland, it seems United’s loan placement choices are dramatically improving.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 14:00 pm (GMT) on the United View YouTube channel.