Lassina Traoré

Shortly after his 18th birthday, Traoré moved to Europe joining Ajax in January 2019, on a three and a half year contract.[1] He had previously played for Rahimo in Burkina Faso and was on the books of Ajax Cape Town in South Africa.[2]

Traoré was named on the bench for the first time in Ajax's fateful second leg defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League on 8 May 2019, before making his debut in the final seconds of their 4–1 win over Utrecht in the league four days later.[3] He would have to wait over five months for his next first-team appearance as a late substitute in a 4–0 win against Feyenoord on 27 October 2019.[3]

On 24 October 2020, Traoré scored five goals and assisted a further three in a record-breaking 13–0 league victory over VVV-Venlo.[4] Three days later, Traoré earned a penalty-kick and scored his first goal in European competition in a 2–2 draw away to Atalanta in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.[5]

Traoré made his international debut for Burkina Faso on 4 May 2017, during a friendly match against Benin.

Although young and not particularly tall (1.83 m), Lassina Traoré is a striker who makes his presence felt in the penalty box thanks to his muscular physique. Although his physicality is important for his game, Traoré is not the typical ‘target man’, nor the typical ‘poacher’. He could instead be defined as a ‘complete forward’ who contributes to the build-up phase and, in our view, could well play in a two-men attack[6].

Traoré's mother was a former professional footballer and captained the Burkina Faso women's national football team.[3] His cousin, Bertrand Traoré, is also a professional footballer, who plays as a striker for Aston Villa.[3]

Lassina Traoré at Soccerway