Manchester United signed Sekou Kone last summer and the youngster has become a regular for the Under-21s side.
When it was announced that Manchester United signed an unknown kid from Mali club Guidars FC, many fans were excited about the prospect.
Sekou Kone had been a standout at the U17s World Cup in 2023 and United acted on their interest to sign him for just £1 million – low risk, high reward.
Despite some calls from the outside for him to be fast-tracked to the first-team squad, the midfielder’s development has been handled carefully by those inside the building.
After going through his own pre-season at the club, Kone was slowly introduced into the Under-21s squad where he is now a consistent starter. He played 90 minutes during the 4-2 win over Everton on Friday night, scoring and assisting in that encounter.
Kone has also been able to start getting used to life in Manchester under the radar while also making friends with different people at the club.
Kone develops unlikely friendship with Rowe
It has been reported by the Manchester Evening News that the 19-year-old has struck an unlikely friendship with Tommy Rowe, the 36-year-old player/coach within United’s youth setup.
Rowe joined the club last year to replace the departing Tom Huddlestone. United value the idea of having an on-pitch coach for the younger players, while the experience also benefits Rowe, who can cover various positions to help if the club want to loan out some of their talents.
Despite being 17 years Kone’s senior, Rowe has developed a relationship with the new arrival and it is said that he has played a ‘crucial role’ in helping him settle into his new life.
It was explained that while Kone is learning English, Rowe is among those picking up on his French to communicate better with the youngster. Travis Binnion and Dave Hughes are also doing the same.
Binnion praises Rowe’s influence on Kone
Speaking after the win over Everton, which puts United into the quarter-final of the Premier League 2 Play-Offs, Binnion explained the role that Rowe has been playing with Kone’s integration.
“Rowy has been excellent with him and they have a brilliant relationship,” Binnion told the Manchester Evening News on Friday evening.
“I think Rowy must have been on holiday in the south of France, with how good his French is coming on. The amount of meetings he’s had with him is brilliant.
“We’ve given him that responsibility. They do analysis, but they’ll translate it for him with the language tutor. He’ll [Rowe] sit in the language lessons so he can pick it up and they’ll do clips with the translator. We’re all doing French, me, Dave and Tommy, but Tommy has kept it going.”
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It seems like United are doing all the right things behind-the-scenes to help Kone during this first season and fans will be hoping that he will be ready to take steps forward next term.
He has already featured on the first-team bench a handful of times and a debut might not be too far away, with plans for the player to be involved during pre-season too.
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