Who is Godwill Kukonki? Manchester United’s Next Youth Prospect

Godwill Kukonki (16) is another Carrington youth prospect Manchester United fans will be getting excited about. Here a short summary and breakdown of his player profile and key attributes.

• Name: Godwill Kukonki
• Age: 16
• Height: 6ft 5”
• DOB: 6th February 2008
• Born: Stoke on Trent
• Nationality: DR Congo & England
• Position: Centre-Back or Left-Back
• Preferred Foot: Left

Kukonki first made his debut for Manchester United U18s when he was just 15 years old. On the 9th of October 2024 Godwill Kukonki made his debut for the Manchester United U21s team against Forest Green Rovers in the National League Cup.

It is often a good indication of a youth player’s potential if they make an appearance for the U21s side at only 16, and Kukonki’s impressive performances for the U18s meant he was given the chance to show what he is capable of midweek.

Kukonki replaced the established Dan Gore in the 76th minute as Manchester United defeated Forest Green 3-2 to get off to a winning start in the competition.

The defender has demonstrated the attributes required to comfortably play at U21s level despite being only 16 years of age. He already possesses great physicality and stands at 6 foot 5 inches tall. Kukonki is very technical for a defender and is composed and comfortable on the ball, whilst having great defensive awareness and positioning.

The defender is also very fast and has the recovery pace to track forwards if the opposition break the last line of defence. He shows superb strength in duels and is good in one v one scenarios. Kukonki also has the agility to react quick to make tackles, blocks or interceptions. He is also more than capable of making nice line breaking progressive passes out from the defence. 

The young defender is versatile in his positioning or role he can play in the team. Whilst having naturally played at centre back in his career so far, he can also cover as a left-back, something very valuable to offer in the modern game. Kukonki has already proven his worth in the U18s this season playing 428 minutes in their first five games. The U18s have won all their games only conceding one goal in the process against Newcastle. Kukonki also managed to get on the scoresheet in the U18s 9-0 win over Blackburn in September. He scored a well taken low driven shot into the bottom corner from a headed knockdown in the six yard area in the box. 

Left footed defenders with the pace and power are a rarity in the game so United might look to fast track the youngster if he continues to impress. Of course he is still raw in terms of development and there will be areas of his game he will look to improve, however we have seen how manager Erik Ten Hag is not afraid to begin transitioning the youngsters early into first team team. Kukonki looks like he already has the qualities to be involved in the senior side and one Manchester United fans will certainly be keeping a close eye on.

KEY ATTRIBUTES

▫️Positional Awareness

▫️Strength

▫️Good in Duels

▫️Composure

▫️Intelligence

▫️Technical

▫️Positional Versatility

▫️Great footwork

▫️Solid Passing Range

▫️Aerial Ability