the essential
Training resumed yesterday for the Ruthénois, with also the announcement of a second recruit arriving as a free agent after a blank season.
A week after announcing the signing of its first summer recruit, the young defender Loni Quenabio, who arrived on a free transfer as his contract with Marignane (National) expires, Rodez Aveyron Football announced yesterday in a press release that it had a second reinforcement. He too arrived on a free transfer as his contract with RC Lens expires on June 30: Ibrahima Baldé (1.85 m).
The 21-year-old striker, born in Paris and who went through the pre-training of Red Star, was trained in the Lens ranks, having played with the U17s, U19s and the reserves. He also participated in four Ligue 1 matches, for 58 minutes of play, during the 2021-2022 season. In August 2022, Baldé was loaned to the Annecy club, with whom he played 20 matches in Ligue 2 and 5 in the Coupe de France, for a total of four goals in the two competitions. He returned to Lens at the end of his loan, but did not play a match during this 2023-2024 season due to several injuries, including one to the hip.
“Able to play at the forefront of the attack, on the left and on the right, Ibrahima is fast, punchy, versatile and has a very good finish. He will wear the number 22 “, Raf specified yesterday. Ibrahima Baldé signed a three-year contract with the blood and gold club.
Split recovery
And he set foot on the Ruthenian pitches in stride, the resumption of training having taken place in the morning. If part of the squad was in Toulouse for specific tests (apparatus not available in Aveyron), he was present in Vabre and satisfied the athletic exercises concocted by the physical trainer Thomas Frette. Under the eyes of coach Didier Santini and the other members of the staff, he, Giovanni Haag or Killian Corredor, present despite the appetites of more upscale clubs, shared the day’s session with young talents of the club, called upon to carry out the summer preparation with them. Especially since with the many departures, the squad is not the most substantial at the moment, even if other arrivals could take place this week, the first collective session really with the ball to be held tomorrow in Vabre.
