Youssouf Mulumbu

Youssouf Mulumbu (born 25 January 1987) is a Congolese professional footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Kilmarnock.

Youssouf Mulumbu
Mulumbu playing for West Bromwich Albion in 2013
Personal information
Full name Youssouf Mulumbu[1]
Date of birth (1987-01-25) 25 January 1987
Place of birth Kinshasa, Zaire
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Kilmarnock
Number 21
Youth career
2004–2006 Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2009 Paris Saint-Germain B 50 (1)
2006–2009 Paris Saint-Germain 13 (0)
2007–2008 → Amiens (loan) 23 (1)
2009 → West Bromwich Albion (loan) 6 (0)
2009–2015 West Bromwich Albion 191 (15)
2015–2017 Norwich City 20 (0)
2017–2018 Kilmarnock 18 (1)
2018–2019 Celtic 1 (0)
2019 → Kilmarnock (loan) 7 (1)
2020– Kilmarnock 11 (0)
National team‡
2007 France U20 1 (0)
2007 France U21 2 (0)
2008– DR Congo 45 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:47, 16 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:32, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

Club career

Paris Saint-Germain

Mulumbu joined Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2004.

West Bromwich Albion

It was reported by the French media on 26 January 2009 that he joined Premier League team West Bromwich Albion on a trial basis. On 2 February 2009, the January transfer deadline day, he joined them on loan with a view to a permanent deal at the end of the season. Mulumbu's first term at The Hawthorns was interrupted by injuries and he had to wait until April to make his Premier League debut, coming on as a sub in a 2–2 draw at Portsmouth. He signed for West Brom permanently on a one-year contract for a fee of £175,000 on 10 July 2009.[3]

He was named West Brom's Player of the Year by both the club and the fans at the end of the season, and signed his third contract extension in 13 months on 25 July 2011, tying himself to the club until 2015 (with the option of an extra year).[4]

On 15 March 2014, Mulumbu scored a crucial winner for West Brom in a 2–1 victory against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium, giving Pepe Mel his first win as head coach.[5]

Norwich City

In June 2015, it was announced that Mulumbu would sign on a free-transfer for newly promoted Norwich City on 1 July 2015.[6]

On 3 August 2015, Norwich announced that Mulumbu suffered a broken metatarsal in a friendly against Brentford which would require surgery and sideline him for several weeks, ruling him out of the start of the season.[7] He would finally make his debut on 27 October in a League Cup game against Everton, which Norwich lost on penalties after a 1–1 draw.[8] He made his Premier League debut a few days later on 31 October in a 2–1 defeat to Manchester City.[9] However, with Jonny Howson, Alexander Tettey and Graham Dorrans preferred in the centre of midfield, Mulumbu would ultimately be confined to only five league starts and two appearances as a substitute in the 2015–16 season, plus one appearance in the FA Cup, and the season would end with Norwich relegated back to the Championship.

Mulumbu remained with Norwich for the 2016–17 season but again found his opportunities for first team action restricted. His last appearance for Norwich came on 11 February 2017 in a 5–1 win over Nottingham Forest.[10] On 2 May, it was announced that Mulumbu was one of seven players who would be released by Norwich when their contracts expired at the end of the season.[11]

Kilmarnock

On 22 November 2017, it was announced that Mulumbu had signed for Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock until the end of the 2017–18 season.[12] Mulumbu reunited with manager Steve Clarke, who had also managed him at West Bromwich.[12] He scored his first goal for Kilmarnock in a 1–0 win against Celtic on 3 February 2018.[13] On 13 July 2018, Clarke said that Mulumbu had left Kilmarnock and was not expected to return to the club.[14]

Celtic

On 31 August 2018, Mulumbu signed a two-year deal with Celtic.[15] Mulumbu was loaned back to Kilmarnock on 31 January 2019, until the end of the 2018–19 season,[16] and played 12 times in his second spell with the Ayrshire club.[17] In June 2019, Mulumbu left Celtic after the club activated a break clause in his contract.[17] Mulumbu had made three appearances for the Glasgow side.[17]

Return to Kilmarnock

After a year out of football, Mulumbu trained with Kilmarnock during August 2020.[18] On 28 August, he made his return to the club on a six-month deal.[19] On 11 January 2021, Mulumbu agreed a contract extension to remain at the club until the end of the 2020–21 season.[20]

International career

Mulumbu was formerly a member of the France under-20 and under-21 teams. He earned his first cap for Congo DR national football team against Algeria on 26 March 2008. In 2009, Mulumbu decided to boycott international football after he claimed his national team lacked professionalism. On 23 September 2011, he retired from international duties, quoting "numerous problems we were facing with some authorities within the DR Congo Football Federation".[21] However, in July 2012, he decided to revoke this decision, and made himself available for the Congo DR national football team once again.[21]

Personal life

Mulumbu was born in Kinshasa, Zaire. He is a Muslim.[22]

Honours

National

DR Congo

Career statistics
As of 16 January 2021[24][25][26]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Others Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Paris Saint-Germain B 2004–05 CFA 6100000061
2005–06 CFA 210000000210
2006–07 CFA 120000000120
2007–08 CFA 0000000000
2008–09 CFA 110000000110
Total 501000000501
Paris Saint-Germain 2006–07 Ligue 1 120000000120
2007–08 Ligue 1 1000000010
2008–09 Ligue 1 0000002[lower-alpha 1]020
Total 130000020150
Amiens SC (loan) 2007–08 Ligue 2 231000000231
West Bromwich Albion 2008–09 Premier League 6000000060
2009–10 Championship 403402000463
2010–11 Premier League 347000000347
2011–12 Premier League 351100000361
2012–13 Premier League 282002000302
2013–14 Premier League 372001000382
2014–15 Premier League 170103000210
Total 1971560800021115
Norwich City 2015–16 Premier League 7010100090
2016–17 Championship 13000101[lower-alpha 2]0150
Total 200102010240
Kilmarnock 2017–18 Scottish Premiership 181200000201
Celtic 2018–19 Scottish Premiership 1000002[lower-alpha 3]030
Kilmarnock (loan) 2018–19 Scottish Premiership 101200000121
Kilmarnock 2020–21 Scottish Premiership 110002000130
Career total 343191101205037119
  1. Appearances in the UEFA Cup
  2. Appearance for Norwich City under-23s in the EFL Trophy.
  3. Appearances in the UEFA Europa League.

References
  1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. p. 296. ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0.
  2. "Premier League Player Profile Youssouf Mulumbu". Premier League. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  3. "Mulumbu pens permanent WBA deal". BBC Sport. 10 July 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  4. "Mulumbu signs new West Brom deal". BBC Sport. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  5. Lovejoy, Joe (15 March 2014). "West Brom delight after Youssouf Mulumbu's late winner at Swansea". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  6. "Youssouf Mulumbu to join City". Norwich City FC. 22 June 2015.
  7. "Norwich's Youssouf Mulumbu sidelined with broken foot". ESPN FC. ESPN Sports Media. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  8. "Everton 1–1 Norwich City (4–3 pens)". BBC Sport. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  9. "Manchester City 2–1 Norwich City". BBC Sport. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  10. "Norwich City 5–1 Nottingham Forest". BBC Sport. 11 February 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  11. "Seven Senior Players Set to Leave". Canaries.co.uk. Norwich City FC. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  12. "Youssouf Mulumbu joins Killie until end of the season". Kilmarnock FC. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  13. "Kilmarnock 1-0 Celtic". BBC Sport. 3 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  14. "Kilmarnock: Youssouf Mulumbu not expected back, says manager Steve Clarke". BBC Sport. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  15. "Youssouf Mulumbu signs for Celtic on a two-year deal". Celtic FC. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  16. Bienkowski, Stefan (31 January 2019). "Youssouf Mulumbu: Celtic midfielder to return to Kilmarnock on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  17. "Youssouf Mulumbu to decide future after Congo duty as Celtic cut short deal". BBC Sport. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  18. "Youssouf Mulumbu close to third spell at Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. BBC. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  19. "Youssouf Mulumbu seals return to Killie". kilmarnockfc.co.uk. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  20. "Youssouf Mulumbu agrees contract extension". Kilmarnock FC. 11 January 2021.
  21. "Mulumbu agrees to return to DR Congo fold". BBC Sport. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  22. Din, Tusdiq (23 August 2011). "Fasting and football. How do top-flight Muslims cope?". The Independent. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  23. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/30627535
  24. "Youssouf Mulumbu". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  25. "Youssouf Mulumbu". National Teams. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  26. "Youssouf Mulumbu". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
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