Seko Fofana

Born in Paris, France, Fofana began his youth career at Paris FC when he was nine and stayed there for six years before joining Lorient.[2] After two years at Lorient,[2] he moved to England when he joined Premier League side Manchester City in 2013 and was immediately sent to the development squad.[3]

Fofana began to be a regular in the under-18s in the 2013–14 season, making 20 appearances and scoring 5 goals in the league and playing 7 times scoring twice in the club's UEFA Youth League campaign against CSKA Moscow[4] and Benfica Juniors.[5] During Manchester City's U21 friendly match against HNK Rijeka, he was racially abused by one of the opposition player just before half-time. As a result, players from Manchester City's U21 squad walked off the pitch, prompting the match to be cancelled.[6] After the match, Manager Patrick Vieira praised the action of the players to walk out.[7]

On 27 November 2014, Fofana signed for Championship side Fulham on loan until 31 January 2015.[8] He made his Fulham debut two days later, where he came on as a substitute for Emerson Hyndman in the 63rd minute, in a 2–1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.[9] His form and performance convinced Fulham to extend the loan spell until the end of the season.[10] He scored his first goal for the club on 21 March 2015 to secure a 2–0 win away to Huddersfield Town.[11] Having established himself under the management of Kit Symons,[12] Fofana went on to make 25 appearances scoring once before returning to his parent club.

After making two appearances for City during their pre-season tour in Australia (playing the second half of a 2–0 win over Adelaide United,[13] and coming on as a late substitute in Manchester City's 1–0 win over Melbourne City),[14] the Premier League club agreed to send Fofana out on loan again to gain further experience. The Frenchman subsequently returned to his native France, to join Bastia on a season-long loan on 29 July 2015.[15] He made his Ligue 1 debut in the opening game of the season 10 days later, on 8 August 2015, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2−1 win at home to Rennes.[16] He then scored his first goal on 12 December 2015, in a 1–1 draw against Troyes,[17] followed up by assisting in the next game on 19 December 2015, in a 2–0 win over Reims.[18] In a 1–0 win over Montpellier on 16 January 2016, Fofana received a straight red card in the 65th minutes.[19] After the match, he was given a four match ban[20] and Fofana, himself, apologised for his action.[21] In total, he made 32 appearances and scoring once for Bastia.

After three years at Manchester City, Fofana joined Serie A side Udinese, signing a five-year deal for worth £2.5 million.[22] In addition, the move included a possible €2 million bonus and Bastia receiving 15% of the total compensation, up to €700K.[23] Fofana made his Udinese debut in the opening game of the season playing 79 minutes before being substituted, in a 4–0 loss against Roma.[24]

On 18 August 2020, Fofana signed a four-year contract with RC Lens.[25] He scored his first goal on 21 February 2021 against Dijon. After a string of good performances, he was awarded the Ligue 1 Player of the Month for September 2021. In May 2022, Fofana won the Prix Marc-Vivien Foé as the best African player in France's top flight for the 2021–22 campaign, following a season in which he scored eight goals in 37 appearances.[26] On 31 August 2022, he signed a contract extension with the club until 2025.[27]

As of match played 12 May 2023[31]

As of match played 27 September 2022[32]

Scores and results list Ivory Coast's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fofana goal.[32]

List of international goals scored by Seko Fofana

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	10 September 2019	Stade Robert Diochon, Rouen, France	Tunisia	2–0	2–1	Friendly
2	24 September 2022		Togo	1–0	2–1
3	27 September 2022	Stade de la Licorne, Amiens, France	Guinea	3–0	3–1