Sir Jim Ratcliffe will be pleased with Sékou Koné’s loan move until the end of the season, as it has great ramifications for the future.
Manchester United’s January transfer business has largely come through the under-21s squad, rather than the first team, not counting the managerial merry-go-round the club has seen this month since dismissing Rúben Amorim.
Sam Mather was the first to leave, and one of the few to depart permanently. He left for Turkey after coming close to sealing the deal before the end of the summer. Rhys Bennett and Joe Hugill have also left on permanent moves.
As for the loan moves, Harry Amass was one of several United youngsters to be recalled. It seems the transfer team wanted to reassess the deals after Jonny Evans departed his role as Loan Manager. Evans is now back at United as one of Michael Carrick’s assistant coaches.
Amass has now joined Norwich City, while Toby Collyer has signed for Hull City until the end of the season. Ethan Wheatley and other U21 players are also expected to make a fresh move before the window slams shut.
Koné joins Lausanne on loan
Fans of the academy have continually been impressed by Sékou Koné in the under-21s team, but the young midfielder has struggled with injury since his move to Old Trafford – likely the reason he is yet to make his senior debut.
Koné has now joined Lausanne-Sport on loan until the end of the season after spending a period of training with the Swiss club. Before the deal was announced, their manager said: “He’s been with us for a few days, we know he’s a good player and we’ve been watching him closely.”
Koné becomes the second United youngster to join Lausanne-Sport after Enzo Kana-Biyik’s move in the summer. Lausanne are owned by INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, so this is United’s own multi-club group, like Manchester City’s ‘City Group’ and Chelsea’s ‘BlueCo’. Ratcliffe also owns OGC Nice in the French division, but there have been reports that he could sell up in the coming years.
Either way, Ratcliffe will be pleased to see his multi-club model in operation as United look to strive back to the top. While owning more than one team appeared to be a myth just a decade ago, it now seems necessary to compete for the Premier League or the Champions League.
United must continue Lausanne partnership
Koné’s loan move ensures United will continue with their multi-club model, but why is it so important?
Take Amass at Sheffield Wednesday. United loaned him to the club late in the transfer window, and Amass became a key player, quickly showing his impressive ability. As such, he was quickly in front of the spotlight and available to be criticised from the very start.
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While this can sometimes be the preparation players need before they begin their United career, sometimes they just need to play games in a comfortable environment.
When you loan a player, you don’t know what the environment is like, what the squad is like, what the manager is like, but when you own the club, that obviously changes. United know that Lausanne is a safe environment for Koné to continue developing and prove he can be a United player based on talent alone.
If he impresses, conversations can begin about what is best for his future: another loan, or a direct move to the first team.
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