Sékou Mara

Sékou Mara (born 30 July 2002) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club Southampton.

Sékou Mara
Mara in 2022
Personal information
Date of birth (2002-07-30) 30 July 2002[1]
Place of birth Paris, France
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Southampton
Number 18
Youth career
2011–2014 Paris Saint-Germain
2014–2017 Boulogne-Billancourt
2017–2021 Bordeaux
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Bordeaux B 14 (5)
2020–2022 Bordeaux 34 (7)
2022– Southampton 30 (1)
International career‡
2017 France U16 2 (1)
2018–2019 France U17 4 (0)
2021– France U20 10 (6)
2021– France U21 4 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:06, 25 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:56, 13 September 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Bordeaux

Mara made his professional debut for Bordeaux in a 2–0 Coupe de France loss to Toulouse on 10 February 2021.[3] He scored his first professional goal in a 1–0 Ligue 1 win over Rennes on 2 May 2021. By scoring this goal, he became the youngest player to score a league goal for Bordeaux in almost 14 years.[4]

Southampton

On 21 July 2022, it was confirmed by Bordeaux that they had accepted an offer from Southampton for Mara, and that the deal was subject to a medical.[5] On 25 July 2022, Southampton confirmed that Mara had signed a four-year deal with the club.[6] On 13 August 2022, Mara made his first Premier League appearance in Southampton’s 2–2 draw with Leeds United after he replaced Jan Bednarek.[7] On 11 January 2023, Mara scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 quarter final EFL Cup victory against Manchester City.[8] On 8 April 2023, Mara scored his first Premier League goal in a 1–4 defeat against Manchester City.[9]

International career

Mara is a youth international for France. He has played matches at under-16, under-17, under-20, and under-21 level.[10]

Personal life

Mara's mother, Audrey Crespo-Mara, is a French journalist and television presenter,[11] and his father, Aliou Mara, is a Senegalese entrepreneur.[12]

Career statistics
As of match played 25 October 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bordeaux B 2019–20 National 3 115———115
2020–21 National 3 30———30
Total 145———145
Bordeaux 2020–21 Ligue 1 8110——91
2021–22 Ligue 1 26610——276
Total 34720——367
Southampton 2022–23[13] Premier League 2213051—302
2023–24[14] Championship 800010—90
Total 3013061—392
Career total 78135061—8914

    Honours

    Individual

    References
    1. "Sékou Mara: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
    2. "Sékou Mara". Southampton F.C. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
    3. "Bordeaux vs Toulouse (0-2) - Coupe de France 2/10/21 UTC". OneFootball. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
    4. Oludare, Shina (2 May 2021). "Sekou Mara makes history with Bordeaux strike against Rennes in Ligue 1". Sporting News. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
    5. "Southampton 'agree deal' for Bordeaux striker Mara". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
    6. "Saints complete Mara signing". Southampton FC. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
    7. Mann, Mantej (13 August 2022). "Southampton 2–2 Leeds". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
    8. McNulty, Phil (11 January 2023). "Southampton 2–0 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
    9. "Premier League: Southampton 1-4 Man City - Alvarez scores City's fourth". BBC Sport. 7 April 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
    10. "Sékou Mara". FFF (in French). Retrieved 10 February 2021.
    11. Tournoux, Gilles; Bernard, Olivier (7 August 2020). "Football : le rêve devient réalité pour le fils d'Audrey Crespo-Mara" [Football: the dream comes true for the son of Audrey Crespo-Mara]. Le Parisien. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
    12. "A la découverte de Sékou Mara, ce franco-sénégalais de 18 ans qui a signé pro au FC des Girondins de Bordeaux" [To the discovery of Sékou Mara, this 18-year old French-Senegalese who signed pro with FC Girondins de Bordeaux]. wiwSport.com (in French). August 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
    13. "Games played by Sékou Mara in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
    14. "Games played by Sékou Mara in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
    15. "Maurice Revello Tournament 2022 best XI". www.festival-foot-espoirs.com. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
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