Manchester United confirmed the signing of 18-year-old Mariesin, and officially announced the departure of the midfielder! Ugarte's arrival is only a matter of detail

Manchester United have confirmed the signing ·of 18-year-old midfielder Sékou Koné from Malian side Quedas. Koné's position is a defensive midfielder, which is exactly what Ten Hag's first team needs to strengthen, but the Red Devils' plan is not to put him in the first team, and the Malian iron will mainly play in the under-21 team in the new season, adapting to English football and life.

According to The Athletic, because the cultural environment from Mali to Manchester has changed dramatically, Manchester United will take a cautious approach and let him integrate one step at a time. However, Koné is considered to have high potential and is a star of the future, and the club will be hoping that he will be one of the options for the No.6 position in the future. According to Italy transfer experts Fabrizio · Romano, this positioning is similar to that of former Arsenal 16-year-old goalscorers Hidozi · Obi Martin, who are still in the joining process.

Born in 2006 and 176cm tall, Koné came out of the JMG academy in Bamako, the capital of Mali, where the most famous star is Tottenham's Bissouma. But Koné is more often compared to former Chelsea stalwart Essien as a modern, physical and technical defensive midfielder. He has excellent ball intelligence and vision, and can deliver creative passes as well as counter presses. It has plenty of energy, wide coverage, defensive awareness and off-ball positioning that is said to be top-notch.

Last year's impressive performance at the Under-17 World Cup saw Koné attract the attention of Europe's top clubs. In the third-place match with Argentina, he completed 34 passes, provided one assist, three shots, created three chances, made six successful tackles, five successful six dribbles and won 13 of 18 duels before Mali beat Argentina 3-0 to finish third.

The Reds have made far more youth signings than the first team this summer, with Koné already the seventh new signing in the youth system. The five players other than Koné and Obi Martin are Reading's 15-year-old striker Camlon · Mpov, Ipswich's 14-year-old winger Silva ·Mex, Crystal Palace's 16-year-old winger Samuel · Lusale, Australia's 16-year-old right wing-back James · Offrey and Aston Villa's left-back Dante · Prancott. Manchester United's new owners, Jim · Sir Ratcliffe, are aiming to develop their own Mbappe, Bellingham and Roy · Keane.

Manchester United also officially announced on Wednesday that 19-year-old midfielder ·Maxi Oyedele (Maxi Oyedele) has officially left the club, and he has made a permanent transfer to Legia Warsaw, Poland. The Academy graduate spent 12 years with the Red Devils, starting with Burnley. According to Manchester United, his transfer fee will depend on the number of future appearances, and the club will also have a 50% share of secondary transfers, as well as a pre-emptive buyback clause that matches any buyer's offer.

Ojedele was born in Manchester, the son of a Nigerian father and a mother from Poland. Like Kobe · Meno and Garnacho, who won the FA Youth Cup in 2022, he featured for Ten Hag's side in a warm-up game this summer but never played for the first team in a competitive game.

Meanwhile, Manchester United's job of bringing in 23-year-old Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel · Ugarte is thought to be almost confirmed. Fruitful talks between the two clubs have taken place this week, and now the framework for a deal has been agreed with the Red Devils on a season-long loan with a mandatory buy-out obligation for next summer. Fabrizio Romano said that Manchester United did not make an offer to buy Ederson of Atalanta in Serie A, and that they only wanted Ugarte, and now that the negotiations have reached the final stage, they only need to settle all kinds of cumbersome details.

Speaking at Thursday's pre-match Premier League press conference, Ten Hag was confident United are working very hard to complete more transfers, including the signing of Ugarte. "Be patient, sit back and wait, we keep working hard and the club will always try to build the best squad possible. We have a few more days to go, and we will always strive to improve, and we will take advantage of the opportunity."

However, when asked when Ugarte would join, Ten Hag's answer was of little substance: "When there is news, we will make an official announcement."