Abdoulaye Doucouré

Abdoulaye Doucouré (born 1 January 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Everton.

Abdoulaye Doucouré
Doucouré playing for Rennes in 2015
Personal information
Full name Abdoulaye Doucouré[1]
Date of birth (1993-01-01) 1 January 1993[2]
Place of birth Meulan-en-Yvelines, France
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Everton
Number 16
Youth career
2004–2007 OFC Les Mureaux
2007–2012 Rennes
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2013 Rennes B 23 (2)
2012–2016 Rennes 75 (12)
2016–2020 Watford 129 (17)
2016 → Granada (loan) 15 (0)
2020– Everton 19 (1)
National team
2009–2010 France U17 19 (1)
2010 France U18 5 (1)
2011–2012 France U19 7 (0)
2012–2013 France U20 3 (1)
2014 France U21 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:09, 3 February 2021 (UTC)

Early life

Doucouré was born in Meulan-en-Yvelines,[3] to Malian parents, his cousin Ladji Doucouré is a French track and field athlete.[4]

Club career

Rennes

Doucouré made his debut in the Ligue 1 during the 2012–2013 season having come through their youth system.[5]

Watford

On 1 February 2016, Doucouré signed to Premier League side Watford for an undisclosed fee and immediately went on loan to La Liga club Granada CF on loan.[6] Doucouré made his first La Liga appearance one week later, as he came on as an 80th-minute substitute for Adalberto Peñaranda in a 1–2 home loss against Real Madrid.[7] Doucouré scored his first goal for Watford on 4 March 2017, netting an injury time consolation as Watford lost 3–4 to Southampton.[8]

Doucouré performed admirably under the direction of Marco Silva the following year and never looked back, improving and excelling under Silva's successor Javi Gracia, arriving late into the box and producing in big moments. Scoring seven goals (two assists) in the 2017–18 season and five the year after (six assists).[9] For a box-to-box midfielder, who was at times asked to play in front of the back four, Doucouré scored a variety of different goals. As such, Doucouré was awarded the 'Player of the Season' title for Watford at the end of the 2017–18 season.[10]

Doucouré was regarded highly despite playing for a struggling Watford side. Doucouré was a stand-out performer for Watford during the club's struggles under Javi Gracia and Quique Flores in recent years. In their short recovery under Nigel Pearson, the midfielder had been given the freedom to play in his best role as a box-to-box midfielder.[11]

Everton

On 8 September 2020, Premier League club Everton announced that they had signed Doucouré from Watford for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £20m.[12] He signed a three-year deal with a club option for a fourth season.[13]

Doucouré made his debut on 13 September 2020 during Everton's first game of the 2020–21 season, away from home against Tottenham Hotspur, a game Everton went on to win 1–0.[14]

Doucouré scored his maiden Everton goal with a powerful header in a 3–2 away win against Fulham on 22 November 2020 in a Premier League fixture.[15]

International career

Doucouré had been capped by France at U21 level.

In March 2019, It was alleged that Doucouré was approached by the Mali FA over representing the African country at international level. He is eligible to play for Mali, the country of his parents. It was claimed that he rejected their approach, apparently still hopeful of a call up in the near future to Didier Deschamps’ set-up.[16]

In February 2020, Doucouré said in an interview that he was targeting a place in the France national team but he also remained open to represent the Mali national team.[17] In September 2020, Doucouré had been called up by Mali for upcoming matches against Ghana on 9 October and Iran on 13 October in Turkey,[18] which he rejected due to his desire to play for France under Didier Deschamps.[19]

Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti believed that Doucouré is one of the best French midfielders around and asserted that Doucouré has the ability to play for the France national team because he is a fantastic midfielder. [20]

Style of play

Doucouré is a well-rounded midfielder. He has the tactical awareness and technique to play for a top club. Aside from his attacking abilities, Doucouré is also physically strong and is disciplined in his positioning when required.[21] Everton manager Ancelotti believes that the skills that Doucouré has means he can play everywhere on the pitch. He can play number 10, in behind, in front of the defence, his work defensively is really good. Doucouré is also learning a lot tactically as well, he has a fantastic ability for the transition when the team catch the ball. In fact, he is fantastic box-to-box player.[22]

Career statistics
As of match played 3 February 2021[23]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Rennes B 2010–11 CFA 60——60
2011–12 CFA 2 162——162
2012–13 10——10
Total 232——232
Rennes 2012–13 Ligue 1 41000041
2013–14 2066011277
2014–15 3533230415
2015–16 1622021203
Total 7512112629216
Granada (loan) 2015–16 La Liga 15000—150
Watford 2016–17 Premier League 2012010231
2017–18 3772000397
2018–19 3554010405
2019–20 3740020394
Total 12917804014117
Everton 2020–21 Premier League 1912120232
Career total 2613221312229437

Honours

Watford

Individual

References
  1. "Squads for 2016/17 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  2. "Abdoulaye Doucouré: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  3. "Abdoulaye Doucoure". Goal. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  4. "Watford's Abdoulaye Doucouré: 'Being the second-youngest of eight has helped'". The Guardian. 3 November 2017.
  5. "Watford sign Abdoulaye Doucoure from Rennes in club record deal". EuroSport. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  6. "Watford sign Abdoulaye Doucoure and Adalberto Penaranda". BBC Sport. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  7. Ames, Nick (February 7, 2016). "Granada v Real Madrid: La Liga – as it happened" – via www.theguardian.com.
  8. "Watford 3–4 Southampton". BBC Sport. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  9. "Thank you, Abdoulaye". DominicBaker. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  10. "End of Season Awards: Winners".
  11. "Premier League 2019-20 | 3 players the top six should look to poach from other English clubs". Sportskeeda. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  12. "Everton transfer plans explained after Abdoulaye Doucoure, Allan and James Rodriguez signings". Liverpool Echo. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  13. "Everton Sign Doucoure From Watford". Everton F.C. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  14. "Calvert-Lewin earns Everton win at Spurs". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  15. "Calvert-Lewin scores twice as Everton beat Fulham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  16. "Abdoulaye Doucouré contacted by Mali".
  17. "Watford's Abdoulaye Doucouré waits on French call up, but open to Mali invite".
  18. "Mali call up Doucoure and Adama Traore for friendly internationals". Reuters. 29 September 2020.
  19. "Abdoulaye Doucouré has rejected a call-up from Mali". Get French Football News. 7 October 2020.
  20. "Ancelotti tips Doucoure for France, lauds Everton defensive concentration". Royal Blue Mersey. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  21. "Premier League 2019-20 | 3 players the top six should look to poach from other English clubs". Sportskeeda. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  22. "Ancelotti tips Doucoure for France, lauds Everton defensive concentration". Royal Blue Mersey. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  23. "A. DOUCOURÉ". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  24. McNulty, Phil (18 May 2019). "Manchester City 6–0 Watford". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  25. "End of Season Awards: Winners". Watford F.C. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
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