Sikou Niakaté
Sikou Niakaté (born 10 July 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Primeira Liga club S.C. Braga. Born in France, he represents the Mali national team.
 Niakaté representing France U20 in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 10 July 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Montreuil, France | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Braga | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2006 | Saint-Germain-en-Laye | ||
| 2006–2013 | Paris Saint-Germain | ||
| 2013–2015 | Boulogne-Billancourt | ||
| 2015–2016 | Évreux | ||
| 2016–2017 | Valenciennes | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2018 | Valenciennes | 29 | (0) |
| 2018–2023 | Guingamp | 54 | (2) |
| 2018–2019 | → Valenciennes (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | → Metz (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | → Braga (loan) | 26 | (3) |
| 2023– | Braga | 4 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | France U19 | 6 | (0) |
| 2019 | France U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2023– | Mali | 1 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:56, 3 October 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 September 2023 | |||
Personal life
Sikou Niakaté was born in Montreuil, France. He holds French and Malian nationalities.[1]
Club career
Niakaté made his professional debut for Valenciennes FC in a 1–0 Ligue 2 loss to Nîmes Olympique on 31 July 2017, making his appearance at the age of 18.[2][3]
On 31 August 2018, the last day of the 2018 summer transfer window, Niakaté joined Ligue 1 side Guingamp on a five-year contract. He was immediately loaned back to Valenciennes for the remainder of the season.[4]
On 12 August 2021, he joined Metz on a season-long loan with an option to buy.[5]
On 28 June 2022, Niakaté moved on loan to Braga in Portugal. Braga held an option to buy his rights at the end of the loan for €1.8 million, and if he played in half of the official games in the season, the option would become an obligation to buy.[6] On 7 June 2023, Braga announced the triggering of the clause, with Niakaté signing a five-year contract.
On 20 September 2023, Niakate’s 88th minute own goal prompted SC Braga 2–1 home defeat against SSC Napoli in SC Braga’s first UEFA Champions League game in a decade.[7][8]
International career
Niakaté was called up to the France U17 national team in December 2015, becoming the first player in Évreux FC 27 history to do so.[9]
Niakaté was called up to the Mali national team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Gabon.[10][11] He officially decided to represent the home country of his parents, Mali, in 2023. He made his debut for the African nation in a 4–0 victory of Mali against South Sudan during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, resulting in their qualification for the 2024 tournament.
Career statistics
- As of match played 23 October 2023[12]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Valenciennes | 2016–17 | Ligue 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | Ligue 2 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 28 | 0 | ||
| Total | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 33 | 0 | |||
| Guingamp | 2019–20 | Ligue 2 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | Ligue 2 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 1 | |||
| 54 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 55 | 2 | |||||
| Valenciennes (loan) | 2018–19 | Ligue 2 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| Guingamp B | 2019–20 | CFA 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Metz (loan) | 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| Metz B | 2021–22 | CFA 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Braga (loan) | 2022–23 | Primeira Liga | 26 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 34 | 3 |
| Braga | 2023–24 | Primeira Liga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7[lower-alpha 2] | 1 | 11 | 1 |
| Career total | 144 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 166 | 6 | ||
- One appearance in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
References
- https://www.unfp.org/joueur/sikou-niakate-22109/
- "Ligue1.com – French Football League – Domino's Ligue 2 – Season 2016/2017 – Week 31 – Nîmes Olympique / Valenciennes FC". www.ligue1.com.
- "Sikou NIAKATé – Football : la fiche de Sikou NIAKATé (Valenciennes)".
- "Sikou Niakaté (Valenciennes) signe cinq ans à Guingamp". L'Équipe (in French). 31 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- "Sikou Niakaté arrive en prêt !" (in French). Metz. 12 August 2021.
- "SIKOU NIAKATÉ É GVERREIRO" (in Portuguese). Braga. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
- "SC Braga 1-2 Napoli - Sikou Niakate own goal gifts Serie A champions late victory in opening game". Eurosport. 20 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- UEFA.com. "Braga-Napoli: UEFA Champions League 2023/24 Group stage". UEFA.com. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- "Evreux Football Club 27 – articles – Sikou NIAKATE convoqué en équipe de France". www.efc27.com.
- "Mondial 2018 : la liste du Mali pour le Gabon – Afrik-foot.com : l'actualité du football africain". www.afrik-foot.com.
- FIFA.com. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ - Matches – Gabon-Mali – FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016.
- Sikou Niakaté at Soccerway
External links
- Sikou Niakaté at Soccerway
- Sikou Niakaté – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)
- Sikou Niakaté at L'Équipe Football (in French)
- Sikou Niakaté at the French Football Federation (in French)
- Sikou Niakaté at the French Football Federation (archived) (in French)