Malick Fofana: Lyon's newest Wunderkind
One To Watch
Just called up for the first time by the Belgian national team, Olympique Lyonnais' exciting young winger Malick Fofana has been in top form of late. With three goals and an assist in his last three matches, all wins for Les Gones, he is impressing on a new level for Pierre Sage's side as the team have climbed the table following an uneven start to the season.
A slow burn
A product of the youth academy at KAA Gent, the same club that helped LOSC Lille's Jonathan David and his teammate, striker Gift Orban, Fofana is of Guinean and Filipino descent. With his father a former professional footballer, and having evinced his talent at an early age, Fofana was even sought by Guinea to play for their senior side, but he averred in a recent interview with Le Progrés that he feels more Belgian than Guinean, saying, “I only went to Guinea once when I was a child, but I will go back because I want to meet the family,”
After impressing with the first team in Gent, he joined Lyon in January, part of an extensive restructuring of the squad that saw the team not only move away from the relegation battle but eventually qualify for Europe. He scored a handful of goals after arriving, but was often sidelined by fellow winter arrival Saïd Benrahma. Despite scoring three goals, he only made three starts in the league, and despite his dazzling blend of pace and dribbling ability, could sometimes seem an afterthought.
Malick Fofana beats the buzzer to give Lyon the win 🇧🇪🦁 pic.twitter.com/p0PuAWwhEM
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) September 29, 2024
Strong play in the present with an eye towards the future
This season has been another, story, though, with Fofana having seemingly displaced Benrahma as Sage's first choice on the left flank, in the wake of a grim loss to Marseille. After scoring a stoppage-time winner last weekend to beat Toulouse, Fofana then started each of the team's next two matches, notching a brace and an assist in a comprehensive win away to Rangers in the Europa League before turning in another strong display against an overmatched Nantes on Sunday.
Speaking after the win in Scotland, he said, "We wanted to show a reaction after the defeat to the OM. We are taking things game by game, and we have to keep going like this. For me personally, the coach told me that to be a starter, I had to prove I can help the team." Sage concurs with his young star, saying, "He's a player who's at the very high level in his mentality, but he will have to string together these sorts of matches, then he will have a very, very good future.
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