‘Unplayable’ star leaves Man Utd but remains in INEOS orbit | OneFootball

Promising Manchester United youngster Sekou Kone has completed a loan move to Lausanne-Sport, a Swiss club owned by INEOS.

Born and raised in Mali, the midfielder began his career at the academy of Guidars, before being poached by the Premier League giants in the summer of 2024.

During his first season in England, he managed to impress while playing for Man Utd’s U21 side, receiving high praise for his ‘unplayable’ displays.

Sadly for Kone, this campaign began with a mishap: he fractured his eye socket during a U21 National League game against Tamworth in August, which kept him on the sidelines for several months. The contest was interrupted due to the scary incident.

Since then, he only made a brief cameo appearance against Notts County in the EFL Trophy back in November, but played a full 90 minutes against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Youth League.

Lausanne-Sport sign Sekou Kone on loan

In recent weeks, it was revealed that Kone has been training with Lausanne ahead of a potential January move.

On Tuesday, it was confirmed that the youngster has officially joined the Swiss top-flight club on loan until the end of the season. Kone, who turned 20 on Tuesday, will thus remain under the INEOS umbrella, and now link up with fellow Man Utd youngster Enzo Kana-Biyik, who completed a loan switch last summer.

(From Lausanne-Sport’s official website)

Lausanne confirmed the move through a statement published on the club’s official website. This will be a dry loan until June, so the Swiss side won’t have an option or an obligation to buy the player, who will instead return to Carrington in July.

Can Kone break into Man Utd’s first team plans?

Prior to his unfortunate injury, Kone was often listed among the most exciting youngsters at Man Utd. Before the start of the season, many tipped him to make his senior debut under Ruben Amorim at some stage of the campaign.

Therefore, it will be interesting to see if he can make up for lost time and return to the conversation, especially with first-team vacancies opening up.

Due to his ball-winning ability, the Malian could be the long-term heir to the departing Casemiro. Naturally, Man Utd will want to add a couple of more established profiles to their midfield ranks next summer. But with the Reds expected to return to Europe, there could be room for one or two additional players in every department, so Kone could remain at the club and provide extra depth.

But first things first, the young man must turn heads during his Swiss experience.