Jonathan Bamba
Jonathan Fousseni Bamba (born 26 March 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a left winger or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Celta.[3] Born in France, he plays for the Ivory Coast national team. Club careerSaint-ÉtienneJonathan Fousseni Bamba is a graduate of Saint-Étienne youth academy, which he joined in 2011. Bamba made his Ligue 1 debut on 25 January 2015 against Paris Saint-Germain replacing Yohan Mollo after 82 minutes in a 0–1 home defeat. During the summer of 2015 he scored against Ajax Amsterdam in a pre-season friendly. On 20 September 2015, he started in the Ligue 1 match against Nantes and scored in the 26th minute to register his first competitive goal for Saint-Étienne's first team in a 2–0 home win.[4] On 18 January 2016, Bamba joined Ligue 2 club Paris FC on loan until the end of the 2015-16 season, with Paris FC not given an option to buy him when the loan expired.[5][6] Bamba was loaned to Belgian First Division A club Sint-Truiden in the summer of 2016. However Sint-Truiden sent him back early to Saint-Etienne during the winter break of the 2016–17 season. On 4 January 2017, Bamba was loaned to Ligue 1 club Angers until the end of the 2016-17 season.[7] On 24 September 2017, Bamba scored Saint-Étienne's second equalizing goal from the penalty spot in a 2–2 Ligue 1 home draw against Rennes to register his fourth Ligue 1 goal (three of which were penalties) of the 2017–18 season.[8] LilleOn 2 July 2018, Bamba signed a five-year deal with Lille OSC.[9] On 11 August 2018, Bamba made his competitive debut for Lille and scored the final goal of the match in the 3–1 Ligue 1 home win over Stade Rennais. Two weeks later, he played his third Ligue 1 match for Lille and took his 2018–19 Ligue 1 goal tally to three when he scored two goals in the 3–0 Ligue 1 home win over Guingamp.[10] On 30 September, Bamba scored two goals (including a penalty) in the final six minutes of the match in the 3–0 Ligue 1 home win over Marseille.[11] On 6 October, he took his 2018–19 Ligue 1 goal tally to seven (he had scored only seven Ligue 1 goals during the entire 2017–18 season) when he scored two goals again and assisted Nicolas Pépé's goal in a 3–1 Ligue 1 home win over Saint-Étienne.[12] After a cancelled 2019–20 Ligue 1 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bamba became confirmed as a regular starter, as Lille won their fourth league title during the 2020–21 season, being in the field in all league games.[13] During the 2021–22 Lille OSC season, he participated in the 1–0 win against PSG in the Trophée des Champions, with the club winning that trophy for the first time ever.[14] Later, he helped the team to get out of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage and played against Chelsea in round of 16.[15] CeltaOn 18 July 2023, Bamba signed with La Liga club Celta.[16] International careerBamba was born in France and is of Ivorian descent.[17] He is a dual-national, and was able to choose to represent either France or Ivory Coast internationally.[17] After representing France at various youth levels, he switched his allegiance to the latter in March 2023, as he accepted a call-up to the Ivorian senior national team for two Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Comoros.[18] In December 2023, Bamba was named in the Ivory Coast's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[19][20][21] He was in the starting XI for Ivory Coast's 2–0 win over Guinea-Bissau in the tournament's opening match.[22] Career statisticsClub
HonoursLille Ivory Coast Individual References
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