In the meantime, the 25-year-old player, at the end of his contract, returned to his country to “enjoy the family”, returned to Paris where he also has relatives. He carried out an unsuccessful two-week trial in Dijon (N1), rejected approaches from Israel and responded, at the beginning of October, in the affirmative to the Girondins’ proposal. “Athletic director John Williams contacted me and talked about the project. I spoke at length with the coach (Bruno Irles) then I spoke with my family. We decided to come. When you see the players who have been here, it’s a dream,” he explains.
Partnership with RC Abidjan
In Bordeaux, the former U20 international, who has already established his good mood, begins the third wave of his career in Europe. Recruited from the RC Abidjan Academy, created and chaired by the brief and controversial technical director of the Bordeaux team Souleymane Cissé, he played there for two years in the first team. He then joined Nice with his teammate Armel Zohouri (now at Sheriff Tiraspol in Moldova) as part of the partnership linked by Cissé between the two clubs. Integrated into the reserve team, he never played competitively there. “We arrived in September 2020, during the Covid period. It wasn’t easy: in a big club like that, you have to demonstrate, there are a lot of great players. We knew we would have to be loaned out. »
It will be the following month in Lausanne, which shares the same owner as the Aiglons (Ineos), and whose sports director is then… Cissé. Not retained on the Côte d’Azur after 18 months in Switzerland (33 appearances in D1), he then bounced back at Beitar Jerusalem, one of the historic Israeli clubs, where he established himself as a starter in 2022-2023 (30 times on 32 appearances) before returning to the bench at the start of last season. Kasimpasa will welcome him on loan in the winter transfer window (for 8 appearances). “In Israel, there was fervor, 6,000 or 7,000 supporters per match. In Türkiye, facing clubs like Gatalasaray and Fenerbahce is magnificent. »The N2 must be a way to bounce back. “As we were told when we were little at the Academy, what is important is to be good where you are, to work, not to give up and to have ambition. »
Support from Franck Kessié
Housed in the former training center at Haillan, Thomas Trazié cites Aurélien Tchouaméni and Jules Koundé as ex-players of the club who left their mark on him, and found a third to accompany his arrival: Maxime Poundjé, known in Lausanne, “a big brother who helps me settle in and do the shopping. » “He called me when I signed to congratulate me. He told me: what does it matter if it’s in N2, it’s a big club, you’re here to write history” underlines the midfielder, who is also in contact with Franck Kessié, the Ivorian international in Saudi Arabia after wearing the colors of AC Milan and Barça. “He encourages us, talks to us all the time about the high level demands. »
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