Manchester City’s conveyer belt of talent has continued as young talent Issa Kabore scooped up the young player of the tournament award at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Sunday saw Sadio Mane and Senegal edge out Mohamed Salah’s Egypt in a tense penalty shoot-out in the final of the competition, but it was Burkina Faso’s Kabore that caught the eye of the adjudicators of the awards as the right-back helped his side to the semi-finals of the tournament.
The 20-year-old defender provided 4 assists through his seven appearances at the tournament, including 2 in the third-place playoff, which his side lost on penalties.
The Burkinabe Stallion ?
Issa Kabore becomes the best young player in the #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 ?#AFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/mWOIMnozNy
— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 ? (@CAF_Online) February 7, 2022
Currently at Ligue 1 side Troyes, part of the City group, Kabore is on loan from the Citizens for the season. And, while he has failed to set Ligue 1 alight, his performances in AFCON will certainly have begun turning some heads at other clubs.
Does Kabore have a Manchester City future?
Manchester City are in dire need of defensive reinforcements come the summer.
Joao Cancelo continues to impress, but is playing out of position at left-back, while Kyle Walker will be 32 years old by the end of the season. Meanwhile, Benjamin Mendy will never play football again and Olexander Zinchenko sees himself playing further up the pitch, although whether he will be able to do so at Manchester City is another matter.
In this muddle, Kabore could well enter the thinking of the club hierarchy, although perhaps as an understudy to Walker at first, given he will still be just 21 come the summer transfer window. With both flanks needing addressing, he could stand to benefit.
