AFC Bournemouth
Winger Dango Ouattara has become the first January signing at Vitality Stadium, joining from FC Lorient.
The Burkina Faso international’s signing from the Ligue 1 club also marks the first arrival under Bill Foley’s ownership.
Ouattara has signed a five-and-a-half year deal with the Cherries which keeps the 20-year-old forward in Bournemouth until 2028.
Here are five things you might not have known about the Cherries’ new arrival…
1. Getting on the scoresheet early
Lorient sealed the services of Ouattara from FC Majestic in the summer of 2020 before he made his debut for les Merlus in August 2021.
The winger then had to wait eight months before netting his first goal, which came in the form of a 95th-minute winner at home to FC Metz.
At 20 years and 68 days old, Cherries’ new signing became Lorient’s second-youngest scorer in the French top-flight.
Current Lorient players Yann Cathline and Theo Le Bris have since bettered the Burkinabe’s record, making him now the fourth-youngest scorer for the club in Ligue 1.
2. Backed to play for the best
When Ouattara made his debut for his former Brittany side, now-Auxerre manager Christophe Pelissier was in the Lorient dugout, and he wasn’t short of praise for the winger.
The French coach later told L’Equipe: “He has the physical abilities you need for the very highest level. His jump, his acceleration, his engine. He will score goals with his head too, you’ll see.
“He has got what it takes to get to the very highest level.”
3. National hero
Called up to represent Burkina Faso as a 19-year-old in December 2021, the forward quickly went on to feature for his nation in the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
Having provided an assist ahead of a shootout victory over Gabon in the round of 16, a quarter-final tie with Tunisia was teed up.
Ouattara’s goal proved the game’s only, sending les Etalons on to the semi-finals to take on eventual AFCON winners Senegal – a game which the winger missed through suspension.
4. Sharing good company
The 20-year-old flew out of the traps at the beginning of the 2022/23 campaign, netting four goals and five assists in the opening eight league games.
Bagging his third goal and fifth assist in a 3-2 win over FC Nantes on matchday seven he joined some illustrious company.
As the third player to reach at least three goals and at least three assists in Ligue 1, Ouattara had only been preceded by PSG duo Neymar and Lionel Messi.
5. Flying his flag
Ouattara’s arrival at the Cherries makes the forward the only player to herald from Burkina Faso currently in the Premier League.
Aston Villa’s Bertrand Traore is a national teammate of the new Bournemouth signing but is currently out on loan with Istanbul Basaksehir in Turkey.
With Traore having been the first, Ouattara becomes only the second-ever player from Burkina Faso to play in the English top flight.
