Ex-Hatter leaves Manchester City to join Benfica on loan

Former Luton loanee Issa Kabore has joined Portuguese Primeira Liga side Benfica on a season-long loan deal from Manchester City.

The 23-year-old spent the 2023-24 campaign at Kenilworth Road, as he played 26 times in total for the Hatters, but was unable to help stave off relegation back to the Championship. Although Kabore was on the bench for City as they won the Community Shield in August when beating Manchester United on penalties at Wembley, he is still yet to have a first team outing for Pep Guardiola’s side since joining from KV Mechelen in the summer of 2020, immediately loaned back to the Belgian club once more.

Kabore also had spells at French side Troyes and Marseille before heading to Luton last term, but will now spend this year at the Estádio da Luz and speaking to BTV, the wingback, who has won 40 caps for Burkina Faso, including playing in the African Cup of Nations recently, said: “When you arrive at a big club like Benfica, the goals are clear. There's a clear vision. We're here to win trophies and that's what we're going to strive for.”