United beat Barcelona to “the next Yaya Toure”, he’s poised to make his debut soon – report

Barcelona failed in their attempts to sign Sekou Kone, who is now impressing key figures at Manchester United.

Barca perhaps boast the best midfield in Europe, having been blessed with the likes of Pedri, Gavi, and Frenkie de Jong.

Further, their famed La Masia academy continues to produce elite-level midfield prospects.

This season alone, Marc Casado and Marc Bernal made their senior breakthroughs under Hansi Flick and have even attracted interest from Europe’s biggest sides, including United.

Despite the abundance of midfield talent, the Blaugrana are understood to be disappointed over missing out on Kone to the Red Devils.

According to Spanish outlet Sport (via Sport Witness), the La Liga giants had shown interest in signing the Malian talent.

Barca followed Kone during his time at Guidars FC and were keen on signing him in their bid to add physicality to their youth setup.

Shining light on their stance, Sport states: “The problem is that some of the targets required small financial compensation and have already escaped months ago.”

United made the more decisive move and landed the Malian talent last summer after agreeing to pay Guidars a little over £1 million.

The 19-year-old has endured an injury plagued season in Manchester but in his limited appearances, the young talent has done enough to grab Ruben Amorim’s attention.

The United head coach has included Kone in his squad three times this season. Recently, The Peoples Person relayed a report claiming the midfielder is expected to make his senior debut during the business end of the campaign.

Kone has been dubbed “the next Yaya Toure” due to his lanky frame and long legs that allow him to shield the ball in possession and steal it during defensive situations. He certainly has the physicality and technical prowess to strengthen Amorim’s midfield in the near future.