Manchester United ended the transfer window without signing a new midfielder, despite making approaches for several targets, but Ruben Amorim already has a star in the making at his disposal
Manchester United made enquiries about signing a midfielder this summer, but the transfer window closed without any new additions in that area, leaving many to question whether this could prove costly.
Insiders at United suggest that bolstering the midfield was never a priority as the club already has options it considers strong and versatile. Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, Manuel Ugarte, Mason Mount and Kobbie Mainoo are all available for selection, and it’s up to Ruben Amorim to navigate the early part of the season with these resources.
Toby Collyer could have offered additional cover in midfield, but Amorim allowed the young player to join West Brom on a season-long loan, believing he wouldn’t get sufficient playing time at United.
Unless United make it to the FA Cup quarter-finals this season, the 2025/26 campaign will see them play the fewest number of games in a season since 1914/15 (excluding seasons affected by war), reports the Manchester Evening News.
This is due to their failure to qualify for European football and an early exit from the Carabao Cup against Grimsby last week. United won’t enter the FA Cup until after Christmas, meaning they only have Premier League fixtures to contend with until the January transfer window opens.
Despite claims from club officials that a new midfielder wasn’t a priority due to their ‘strong’ options, it seems like a calculated decision was made based on the fixture schedule and financial considerations.
United face just 16 Premier League fixtures before the January transfer window opens. The board has assessed Fernandes, Casemiro, Ugarte, Mount and Mainoo and concluded there’s sufficient quality to take a gamble.
There’s also confidence that Sekou Kone could make a first-team contribution before the campaign concludes. Kone featured for just one minute during the United States tour, yet staff remain optimistic about his potential impact.
It appears unlikely that Kone will make any meaningful impression in the opening half of the season, however. The youngster has been hovering around the first-team squad and requires additional training time to present a compelling argument to Amorim.
Kone turned out for the Under-21s against Tamworth in the National League Cup last month and suffered a head knock. Kone was rushed to hospital and the match had to be called off with no replacement ambulance on standby.
The midfielder remained in hospital overnight before being released the following morning. Kone has been described as “fine” by a source and he’s set to return to grass training shortly, meaning he could potentially appear in closed-door U21 friendlies against the PFA and Aston Villa during the international break.
United parted with approximately £1million to secure Kone from Malian outfit Guidars FC. He was recruited with first-team progression in mind and the transfer represented minimal risk given the modest fee.
Kone has adapted to life in Manchester partly thanks to Tommy Rowe, who completed intensive French lessons to communicate with him. Under-21 manager Travis Binnion also undertook French lessons, though Binnion praised Rowe for his particularly determined efforts to master a new language.
Supporters were eager to see Kone during pre-season in the USA. They believed he could showcase his abilities and potentially make a compelling argument for first-team opportunities, but Amorim didn’t field him in any of the friendlies.
Kone still faces a considerable journey ahead and has been navigating a challenging learning process since arriving in England. He’s been required to build muscle mass, adapt to the pace and enhance his tactical awareness.
Earlier this year, Binnion told the MEN: “He’s a good player and we have high expectations for him, and any player we sign, you want to have those expectations, otherwise you go away and you aren’t signing a good player. You can see with the lads in the first-team, the level of expectation is high.
“But the reward is high and our lads have to be ready, maybe sooner than other big clubs, which is a real positive for players in the academy, but it’s hard, it’s not easy, is it?”.
“He has trained with the first-team quite a lot now, but as you can see tonight and the games he’s played recently, a big part of his development is the games.
“And it’s a healthier part of our first-team in that position, and the demands on that position are really high, whereas a forward player, they can maybe make more mistakes and experiment a bit more.
“The games are really important for them to get used to, the style of play, the intensity of English football and just for him to make better decisions day in, day out, in each of the games, whereas if he didn’t play games and only dropped in now and again, I think you’d see a slower rate of development.
“A lot of [academy] players train with the first-team a lot because they’re further along in their development. He does train with the first-team, but he needs to make sure he’s developing his own game, so when he goes full-time with the first-team, he’s in the right space.”
United are hopeful that Kone can progress swiftly enough to make an impact with the senior squad this campaign. However, he won’t be hurried along given he was recruited last summer with an eye on the future.
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