Why exciting youngster Sekou Kone has not made his Manchester United debut yet

Manchester United are being patient with Sekou Kone while he gets his fitness up ahead of his first appearance for the club.

The Manchester Evening News revealed in August that United had agreed a deal to sign Kone from Guidars FC and the transfer was made official for around £1million on deadline day.

It's been a month since Kone arrived and although he is expected to play for the academy to begin with, he is yet to make an appearance and is still waiting for his Under-21 debut.

A source has said Kone has essentially been having a pre-season after missing a lot of time training while the transfer process went on, which explains why he hasn't played yet.

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Depending on Kone's progress with his fitness, he could make a first academy appearance this month but he won't be rushed into action, with his long-term development in mind.

The 18-year-old is considered a player with high potential by United and although he has initially joined up with the academy, he'll spend time training with the first team at Carrington, which means he could be fast-tracked if he demonstrates he can operate at the level required.

Kone was first scouted by United in November at the Under-17 World Cup in Indonesia. Multiple staff members from United watched Kone throughout that tournament as Mali beat Argentina to claim a third-place finish and they identified a player of significant interest to follow.

After following Kone at the U17 World Cup, another United scout attended an Under-18 tournament in Morocco in April where he featured as one of the players of the tournament.

It's understood the