Teenage midfielder Aliou Traore signs first professional contract with Manchester United

Manchester United have confirmed their teenage midfielder Aliou Traore has signed his first professional contract at Old Trafford.

The 17-year-old officially signed for the Red Devils as a youth player on 3 December. However, he has been training with the club since the pre-season and was also part of the Kieran McKenna's Under-18s squad's trip to Austria in the summer.

Traore came up through the ranks of Paris Saint-Germain's youth setup and left the French capital club in August 2016. He was playing for amateur side Sarcelles the last term before being invited by the 20-time champions of England for a trial at Carrington.

The midfielder, who turned 17 on Monday (8 January), has put pen to paper on his first professional contract at United.

"Manchester United is delighted to announce that exciting prospect Aliou Traore has signed his first professional contract at the club, just a month after officially joining the Academy," a statement on United's official website read.

McKenna earlier admitted that Traore is a powerful midfielder, who now joins a host of players that includes the likes of Angel Gomes, Kieran O'Hara and Aidan Barlow to commit their futures to United.

The Red Devils legend and Head of Academy, Nicky Butt remains confident the teenager has a bright future ahead of him, while also warning that Traore needs time to adapt.

"Aliou is a tremendously gifted young player and we are all delighted to see him sign his first professional contract at Manchester United," Butt told United's official website.

"Aliou will naturally need time to adapt, but he has an exciting future ahead of him and we are all looking forward to seeing his performances for the Under-18s in the second half of this season."