One of the biggest successes of Ineos’ opening summer in charge of Manchester United was Sekou Kone.
To sign a player like Sekou Kone with stratospheric potential for just £1m will always be an incredible move.
Manchester United beat Barcelona to sign Kone, which highlights how special a footballer he can be.
Signed from the Malian football club FC Guidars, it would have been accepted if Kone had taken time to adapt to life in England. However, from February onwards, Kone had earned Ruben Amorim’s trust, according to reports, and has been knocking on the first team door since.
Kone impressed in his first senior start for United during the post-season tour of Asia and may have played his way into the plans this summer of Amorim.
After the post-season tour, Kone was also performing well for Mali at the U19 Toulon tournament in France. Now, Ineos have actually signed one of his Mali U19 teammates.
Sekou Kone celebrates with Mali teammates, holding flag.
Photo by Marcio Machado/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
Ineos signs Mali forward Gaoussou Diakite for FC Lausanne-Sport
The signing of Kone was inspired and exciting by Ineos, a move which the previous regime, which ran United, would never have made.
Head of Recruitment Christopher Vivell deserves big credit for Kone, as it was a move that had his name written all over it. But it seems Ineos in general is beginning to switch toward a philosophy of signing high-potential youngsters, even beyond Old Trafford.
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Now, Ineos-owned FC Lausanne-Sport have followed this trick, and are set to beat Montpellier to the signing of 19-year-old Gaoussou Diakite on loan, according to L’Equipe.
The Malian striker plays for RB Salzburg and last season scored nine goals and made four assists in 23 games for Liefering in Austria’s 2.Bundesliga.
Whether this is a loan with potential buy options remains unclear, while it is also unclear if United is involved in future thinking.
Diakite played alongside Kone at the Toulon tournament earlier this month, in which he scored two goals, while Kone got two assists in the tournament.
Manchester United have been linked with further African youth signings this summer
Given the success of Kone, United are unsurprisingly looking to make further additions from Africa.
So, earlier this year, United were scouting the U17 AFCON tournament with top academy scout Jerome sent to Morocco to scout the top talent at the tournament.
In particular, United were watching Seydou Dembele from Mali, who has been compared with Barcelona legend Xavi.
Additionally, United had kept a close eye on the high-scoring 15-year-old, Asharaf Loukman Tapsoba, from Burkina Faso, who was likened to Victor Osimhen.
Kone is an example of what Ineos wants to do in the transfer window and proof that they can do further business along these lines, as it worked out well.