Two days ago, Championship club Southampton announced the club have completed the signing of Issa Tounkara from Mali’s Académie des Etoiles du Mandé.
The Saints were successful in overcoming competition from several sides to secure the 17-year-old’s services.
Southampton technical director Johannes Spors told the club’s official website that he is happy the Malian chose the Saints over other clubs.
The Championship side have been chasing the defensive midfielder for the past several months.
Back in February, Sport Witness relayed news of the English club submitting a formal offer of €1m to Académie des Etoiles du Mandé.
On March 7th, we again relayed news of the youngster making a trip to England to carry out medical tests with Southampton. It’s been over a month, and Tonda Eckert’s side now finally confirmed his arrival.
Youngster happy with Southampton move
Africa Foot have regularly covered Southampton’s pursuit of Issa Tounkara. With the Mali U17 international now completing a move, the outlet had a chat with the player.
The new Saints signing is happy to have completed a move to the English club. At the same time, he didn’t waste time to make his future ambitions clear.
“This is a first step towards entering the world of professional football. I’m incredibly proud to have signed with Southampton. It’s the result of hard work, and that will continue,” he said.
“This is just the beginning. I’ll be able to continue my development at Southampton, with the ambition of one day playing in the Premier League and winning major trophies.”
Tounkara’s side are fourth in the Championship table, three points behind second placed Ipswich Town, who have a game in hand. Southampton are likely to make it to the playoffs if they fail to secure direct promotion.
How teenager caught Southampton’s attention
The defensive midfielder captained Mali at the U17 AFCON in April 2025, losing to Morocco in the final.
However, he didn’t make it to the Mali U17 squad for the World Cup later that year. He still managed to attract interest from Lyon, Lille, Fenerbahçe, Villarreal CF, RSC Anderlecht, and FC Midtjylland.
However, Southampton won the battle in the end. The young midfielder will turn 18 years of age in June, making him eligible to move to the UK.
At Southampton, Issa Tounkara is likely to start with their youth team and work his way into their first team. The Saints may even sanction a loan move in the coming windows.
