5 things to know about Abakar Sylla, Strasbourg's Ivorian gem
Abakar Sylla: what you need to know about Strasbourg's new signing. The 20-year-old Ivorian defender already has a rich story to tell.
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Strasbourg's most expensive signing ever
The 20 million euro man. At 20, Abakar Sylla arrives already carrying a record-breaking tag. Bought for close to 20 million euros, the Ivorian defender is the most expensive signing in the history of the Alsace club. He now overtakes Habib Diallo, for whom 10 million euros was paid. That was in the summer of 2020, from Metz.
With that price tag, Abakar Sylla will inevitably be expected to deliver. "I feel great happiness and great emotion at the same time. It is also a big challenge for me and an important step in my career", he said on the sidelines of his signing.
The Elephants' next generation
At 20, Abakar Sylla is already an Ivory Coast international. He has already pulled on the Elephants shirt on 5 occasions. He won his first cap at 19 years and 09 months old, in September 2022. Unsurprisingly, the Ivorians, who are waiting for a new generation of centre-backs to emerge, see Sylla as someone to count on. What is more, with the 2023 AFCON approaching, Eric Bailly, who is seen as the leader of the defence, is not part of Manchester United's plans. If he fails to find a new club, Jean-Louis Gasset could count on Strasbourg's new man to take up the torch.
A culpable loss of temper
However, Abakar Sylla is not all good news. He showed his dark side last January against Genk. After leaving his hand lingering on Paul Onuachu's face, the referee showed him a yellow card. Following that, he flew into a rage. The defender made big gestures and hurled the ball away. The referee then decided to send him off. Enough to calm him down? Far from it. In fact, he refused to leave the pitch. It took several team-mates stepping in to push him off.
On his way to the dressing room, Abakar Sylla unleashed all his rage on a door, which he literally smashed. His mood swings also make him a player who picks up a lot of cards. In 28 games for Bruges, the Ivorian already has 10 yellows and one red.
Already a symbolic scorer in the Champions League
Having made his professional debut with Club Bruges on 11 May 2022, Abakar Sylla established himself in 2022-2023 as a key member of the side. The Ivorian played 26 games in all competitions, 22 of them as a starter. In the Champions League, he played all 6 group games, every one as a starter. It gave him the chance to shine and score against Bayer Leverkusen (1-0 win). A hugely symbolic goal, as it is his only one for the Bruges club. It was also the 500th European goal in the club's history.
Ivory Coast, Belgium, France
Before learning his trade at Bruges, Abakar Sylla began his development back home. It was at the Société Omnisports de l'Armée that he started out. He then joined Club Bruges' reserve side in the summer of 2021, before taking the path we now know. An already unusual career for a 20-year-old. But experiencing Ivory Coast, Belgium and now France at his age could go a long way towards shaping his character. Perhaps to make him the highly rated defender observers see in him. Ligue 1 has a new talent.