Abdoulaye DOUCOURÉ

Abdoulaye Doucouré is a pure product of Stade Rennais’ Academy setup, which he joined in 2007. He was undisputably first-choice in all the teams he played for, and he became a regular in the France national side. Despite suffering a major injury which kept him out of the game for the vast majority of the 2010/2011 season, he was still a player who his club relied upon. Proof of that came when he signed his first professional contract for three seasons, shortly after leaving the treatment table. Doucouré is box-to-box midfielder who was rightly inspired by the likes of Vieira and Diaby. He made his professional debut at Brest in March 2013 and scored his first goal on a solo run from deep. His progression was hampered in May 2013 when he ruptured his cruciate knee ligaments. A regular in the side under Philippe Montanier between 2013-2015, he scored 16 goals for Rennes, often in an attacking role, which didn’t exactly suit his qualities. When Courbis arrived as Manager, he was sold to Watford for 9 Million Euros on 1st February 2016.