Abdoulaye Doucouré

Abdoulaye Doucouré (born 1 January 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as central midfielder for club Everton. Born in France, he played for the Mali national team.

Early life
Doucouré was born in Meulan-en-Yvelines, to Malian parents. His cousin Ladji Doucouré is a French track and field athlete.

Rennes
Doucouré made his debut in the Ligue 1 during the 2012–13 season for Rennes, having come through their youth system.

Watford


On 1 February 2016, Doucouré signed for Premier League club Watford for an undisclosed fee and immediately joined La Liga club Granada on loan. He made his first La Liga appearance one week later, when he came on as an 80th-minute substitute for Adalberto Peñaranda in a 1–2 home loss against Real Madrid. Doucouré scored his first goal for Watford on 4 March 2017, netting an injury time consolation as Watford lost 3–4 to Southampton.

Doucouré scored seven goals and made two assists in the 2017–18 season. He was named "Player of the Season" for the club at the end of the 2017–18 season.

In the 2018-2019 season, Doucouré scored five goals and six assists. In Watford's 6-0 defeat in the 2019 FA Cup Final, Doucouré was shown a yellow card after protesting a referee's penalty decision.

Everton
On 8 September 2020, Premier League club Everton announced that they had signed Doucouré from Watford for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £20m. He signed a three-year deal with a club option for a fourth season. Doucouré made his debut on 13 September during Everton's first game of the 2020–21 season, 1–0 win away from home against Tottenham Hotspur. Doucouré scored his first Everton goal with a powerful header in a 3–2 away win against Fulham on 22 November 2020 in a Premier League fixture. He scored again against Manchester United in a 3–3 draw on 6 February 2021 at Old Trafford when he tapped in from close range. On 12 March, Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti said that Doucouré had suffered a fractured foot in training thus ruling him out for 8–10 weeks. Ancelotti said he hoped Doucouré would return to the team before the end of the season.

On 4 April 2023, Doucouré received a straight red card during Everton's 1–1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur for violent conduct after hitting Harry Kane in the face. On 23 May, the club said it was extending the player's contract by a year until the end of the 2023–24 season. Five days later, on the final matchday of the 2022–23 season, Doucouré scored one of the most consequential goals in the club's history to secure a 1–0 win over Bournemouth. Had Everton only drawn, they would have been overtaken by Leicester City on goal difference and been relegated to the second tier of English football for the first time since the 1950–51 season. Later that year, on 3 November, he signed a new contract until 2025.

International career
Doucouré played for France at U21 level. In March 2019, he was approached by the Mali FA over representing the African country at international level. He is eligible to play for Mali, the country of his origin, but rejected their approach.

In February 2020, Doucouré said in an interview that he was targeting a place in the France national team but he also remained open to representing the Mali national team. In September 2020, Doucouré was called up by Mali for upcoming matches against Ghana on 9 October and Iran on 13 October in Turkey, which he rejected due to his desire to play for France under Didier Deschamps.

In February 2022, Mali FA President Baviuex Touré told the media that he was in negotiation with Doucouré, hoping that he would switch his international allegiance from France in time to feature in their World Cup play-offs in March.

In March 2022, Doucouré finally accepted a call-up from Mali and he debuted with Mali in a 1–0 2022 World Cup qualification loss to Tunisia on 25 March 2022.

Style of play
Former Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti has said of Doucouré that "he can play everywhere on the pitch. He can play number 10, in behind, in front of the defence, his work defensively is really good. He is learning a lot tactically as well. He has a fantastic ability for the transition when we catch the ball. He is fantastic box-to-box."

Honours
Rennes
 * Coupe de France runner-up: 2013–14

Watford
 * FA Cup runner-up: 2018–19

Individual
 * Watford Player of the Season: 2017–18