Manchester United youngster Aliou Traore has said he is going to 'work hard' this summer as he looks to make an impact in the Premier League 2 and Checkatrade Trophy this season.
The 'powerful' midfielder joined the club in November 2017 and after overcoming an injury he graduated into the Under-23 team last season thanks to some impressive performances in the the Under-18s.
United's U23s will compete in the Checkatrade Trophy for the first time this season as an invited team and will come up against teams from League One and Two.
It's a big step up but the 18-year-old is raring to go.
"I’m going to enjoy this summer but work hard and then get back to Manchester, and be fit and ready to go," Traore told MUTV.
"It’s been a new experience for me," he added on playing in the older age group.
"I’d never played men’s games before so it was great experience stepping into the Under-23s. It’s quite different – much quicker and less space due to the speed of the game. You also need to get to know your team-mates.
"You have to manage how to play with new colleagues as you don’t know what they like and their strengths. But you learn very quickly from it and can do this in training as well."
The youngster joined United after formerly being on the books at Paris Saint-Germain and he says that he is now fully adapted to life in England.
"I feel like it’s my second home here now. United helped me a lot – I can now speak English fully and they helped me with my mother and the new house. I feel like an Englishman!
"I look back on a great season for us, although we didn’t win anything. We played some really good football and can hopefully do well next year.
"We had some big occasions, like the FA Youth Cup tie against Chelsea, and beating Liverpool twice away from home. They were really good games to watch."
