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 37 (3)
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 18:19, 13 January 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:56, 13 September 2023 (UTC)

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

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 13 January 2024
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 1521110—173
Total 3734161—475
Career total 85156161—9717

    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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