Leicester sign €20m Lille midfielder Soumare

Robin Bairner

Updated: 2 Jul 2021 09:36 CDT
3 min read

Boubakary Soumare: Race for the ‘new Pogba’ heats up amid Leicester interest — © ProShots

Leicester have confirmed the signing of France Under-21 international Boubakary Soumare from Lille, with the fee reported to be in the region of €20 million (£17m).

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Soumare has signed a five-year deal with the Foxes that ties him to the club until 2026.

He becomes the club's second major signing of the summer after Leicester completed the signing of Red Bull Salzburg attacker Patson Daka earlier in the week.

In a statement published on the club's official website, Soumare said: “I’m really proud to come to the Premier League and a big club like Leicester. It’s going to really help me to develop my game and progress as a player, so I feel it is the right step for me.

I knew straight away I wanted to come.

- Boubakary Soumare

“Leicester is a very ambitious club. When they spoke to me about their plans and what they wanted from me, I knew straight away I wanted to come. I really am so proud and honoured to be here and I will give my all for the team and club to make everyone happy.”

Soumare was a member of the Paris Saint-Germain academy but moved to Lille having been promised first-team exposure.

He was in and out of the team during his first season, and it was not until the end of 2018/19 that he started to hold down a regular spot.

Soumare briefly fell out of favour the following season but was a regular in the Lille side that won the 2020/21 Ligue 1 title ahead of PSG, featuring on 32 occasions in total and earning a regular spot during the run in, playing eight successive games.

What type of player is Soumare?

Boubakary Soumare was dominant in midfield — © ProShots

Soumare was once annointed as the next Paul Pogba, though in truth he is more defensively orientated than the Manchester United and France midfielder.

He has a similar build and similar way of moving, but his focus is far more on breaking up play than being any kind of offensive force. This is reflected by the fact that he has scored only one career goal in over 110 senior appearances.