Edgar Paul Akouokou (born 20 December 1997) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Ligue 1 club Lyon and the Ivory Coast national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Edgar Paul Akouokou | ||
| Date of birth | 20 December 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Lyon | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Ekenäs IF | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2018 | Ekenäs IF | 35 | (2) |
| 2017–2018 | → Beitar Jerusalem (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2018 | → Hapoel Rishon LeZion (loan) | 16 | (3) |
| 2018–2020 | Betis B | 44 | (0) |
| 2020–2023 | Betis | 32 | (0) |
| 2023– | Lyon | 8 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022– | Ivory Coast | 4 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 February 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 June 2022 | |||
Club career
editEarly career
editAkouokou started his career with Finnish side Ekenäs IF in 2016, playing in the second-tier level Ykkönen. In January 2017, he went on a trial at Ligue 1 side Angers SCO.[2]
On 27 August 2017, Akouokou moved to Israeli Premier League side Beitar Jerusalem on a loan deal until May 2018.[3] After being sparingly used, he moved to Hapoel Rishon LeZion of the Liga Leumit in following February, also on loan.[4]
Betis
editOn 21 November 2018, Akouokou left Finland after agreeing to a deal with La Liga side Real Betis for an undisclosed fee; he was initially assigned to the club's reserve team in Tercera División.[5] On 10 September 2020, after helping the B-team to achieve a promotion to Segunda División B, he renewed his contract with Betis until 2024, and was promoted to the first team.[6]
Akouokou made his La Liga debut on 20 September 2020, replacing goalscorer William Carvalho late into a 2–0 home win over Real Valladolid.
Lyon
editOn 1 September 2023, Akouokou signed a four-year contract with Ligue 1 side Lyon.[7] Transfer fee was announced to be €3 million and Betis have a sell-on clause.[8][9]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 23 February 2024[10]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ekenäs IF | 2016 | Ykkönen | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 21 | 1 | |||
| 2017 | Ykkönen | 14 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 35 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 2 | ||
| Beitar Jerusalem (loan) | 2017–18 | Israeli Premier League | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| Hapoel Rishon LeZion (loan) | 2017–18 | Liga Leumit | 16 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 3 | ||||
| Betis B | 2018–19 | Tercera División | 20 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 0 | ||||
| 2019–20 | Tercera División | 24 | 0 | — | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 0 | ||
| Betis | 2020–21 | La Liga | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | La Liga | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | La Liga | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | La Liga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 32 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 0 | ||
| Lyon | 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 147 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 169 | 5 | ||
- ^ Appearance(s) in Promotion Playoffs
- ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
Honours
editBetis
Lyon
- Coupe de France runner-up: 2023–24[12]
References
edit- ^ "Paul Akouokou". Real Betis. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Akouokou på test till fransk ligaklubb" [Akouokou on trial at French club] (in Swedish). Ekenäs IF. 7 January 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ "Paul klar för Israeliska ligalaget Beitar Jerusalem FC" [Paul ready for Israeli league team Beitar Jerusalem] (in Swedish). Ekenäs IF. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ "האישור הגיע: פול אדגר עובר להפועל ראשון לציון" [The confirmation came: Paul Edgar moves to Hapoel Rishon Lezion] (in Hebrew). Maariv. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ "El Betis Deportivo incorpora a Paul Akouokou" [Betis Deportivo sign Paul Akouokou] (in Spanish). Real Betis. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ "El Real Betis y Paul amplían su vinculación hasta 2024" [Real Betis and Paul extend their link until 2024] (in Spanish). Real Betis. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ "Le milieu de terrain Paul Akouokou s'engage à l'OL jusqu'en 2027" [Midfielder Paul Akouokou joins OL until 2027] (in French). Olympique Lyonnais. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ Midfielder Paul Akouokou Signs with OL until 2027, actusnews.com/ OL Groupe, 1 September 2023
- ^ Miljonaffär då tidigare EIF-spelaren Paul Akouokou såldes till franska Olympique Lyonnais – ger duktigt med klirr i kassan åt Ekenäsklubben, Svenska Yle, 2 September 2023
- ^ Paul Akouokou at Soccerway
- ^ "Real Betis won their first Copa del Rey since 2005 after beating Valencia on penalties in Seville". BBC. 23 April 2022.
- ^ "PSG beat Lyon 2-1 to win French Cup final in Mbappe's farewell appearance". Reuters. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
External links
edit- Profile at the Real Betis website
- Paul Akouokou at BDFutbol
- Paul Akouokou at LaPreferente.com (in Spanish)
- Paul Akouokou at Soccerway