Picture: Sekou Kone spotted training with Man United first-team for first time as his kit number is confirmed | OneFootball

Sekou Kone trained with the Manchester United first team for the first time, earlier on Tuesday, ahead of the club’s Europa League clash against Fenerbahce.

Kone joined United in the summer from Malian side Guidars FC.

It’s believed that United had heavily scouted the highly talented midfield prospect and beat some of Europe’s elite clubs to his signature.

The Red Devils will pay a fixed sum of £1.2 million for Kone. There are also a number of performance-related bonuses included.

Kone drew attention to himself after impressing at last year’s under-17s FIFA World Cup which saw Mali beat Argentina to claim a third-place finish in the tournament.

A previous report covered by The Peoples Person relayed that Kone will be fast-tracked into the United senior team.

The 18-year-old had yet to be spotted in any official training imagery before Tuesday.

He was part of the first-team group that trained at Carrington ahead of Thursday’s high-stakes match at Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.

Kone was pictured wearing training gear with the no. 42, seemingly confirming his United squad number.

The no.42 has previously been worn by other talented youngsters at Carrington such as Alvaro Fernandez who is now at Benfica, and World Cup winner Paul Pogba.

It’s unlikely that Kone will get minutes against Fenerbahce, given that United are keen on gently easing him into the action amidst a dramatic change of scenery at such a tender age.

He is not the only starlet who took part in first-team training, with others such as Ethan Wheatley, Harry Amass and Jack Kingdon also forming part of the group.

Play for free to win the new United kit!

We’re awarding a new prize every PL matchweek, courtesy of Goat Kits! To play, just (1) Join this week’s brand new PL Challenge league here with our league code puu1tk and enter your team. (2) Follow The Peoples Person on X and answer the tie breaker question. Full instructions and rules here.

You can also visit Goat Kits at goatkitstore.com and use discount code TPP30 to get 30% off your first purchase!