Younousse Sankharé

Younousse Sankharé

Personal information
Full name	Younousse Sankharé
Date of birth	(1989-09-10) 10 September 1989
Place of birth	Sarcelles, France
Height	1.84 m (6 ft  1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	EA Guingamp
Number	12
Youth career
1998–2001	AS Pierrefitte
2001–2007	Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2007–2011	Paris Saint-Germain	33	(1)
2009	→ Reims (loan)	17	(0)
2010–2011	→ Dijon (loan)	27	(6)
2011–2012	Dijon	45	(5)
2013	→ Valenciennes (loan)	13	(0)
2013–	EA Guingamp	0	(0)
National team‡
2008–2010	France U21	16	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 March 2013. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 May 2010

Younousse Sankharé (born 10 September 1989 in Sarcelles, Val-d'Oise) is a French football player of Mauritanian descent who plays for French club EA Guingamp. He plays as a left-sided midfielder, but also operates as a left back.

Career

Sankharé grew up in the northern suburbs of Paris in Val-d'Oise and joined his hometown club in 2001 arriving at the Camp des Loges as a youth player. After spending nearly six years in the club's youth system and the reserves, Younousse signed his first professional contract, in June 2007, agreeing to a three-year deal.^[1] He was promoted to the senior squad and assigned the number 27 shirt.

Younousse participated in the club's pre-season earning appearances in the 2007 edition of the Emirates Cup where Paris Saint-Germain finished second. He made his league debut on 6 October 2007 in a match against Rennes appearing as a substitute in a 1–3 defeat.^[2] He earned consecutive starts the following match days playing the full 90 minutes in both a 0–0 draw against Valenciennes^[3] and a 2–3 loss to Olympique Lyonnais.^[4] After those appearances, he regularly appeared as a substitute throughout the league season, but made impressive starts in the 2007–08 edition of the Coupe de France. In the Round of 16, he assisted on the opening goal scored by Loris Arnaud in a 2–1 victory over SC Bastia.^[5] He also played the full 90 minutes in 1–0 victories over amateur side Carquefou^[6] and Amiens SC^[7] in the quarterfinals and semi-finals, respectively. In total, Younousse made 13 appearances scoring no goals.

The next season, Younousse's play was limited appearing in only two league matches. This was primarily due to the club's impressive start in league play, where they reached as high as 2nd position. He did make four appearances in the UEFA Cup earning starts against Turkish club Kayserispor,^[8] German club FC Schalke,^[9] and Spanish club Racing Santander.^[10]

Loan to Reims

Due to the club's positive form in league play and also playing well in Europe, on 26 January 2009, Sankharé was sent on loan by manager Paul Le Guen to Ligue 2 club Stade Reims in order to increase the player's playing time.^[11] He made his debut just four days later playing 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw with Guingamp.^[12] He appeared in every following league match scoring no goals gaining experience in the process, despite Reims suffering relegation to the third-tier National. He returned to Paris on 1 July.

International career

Sankharé earned his first youth caps with the France U-19 squad, receiving a call up to the squad that won the Sendaï Cup, scoring a goal against Brazil during the competition. He made his U-21 debut on 19 November 2008 against Denmark in a 1–0 victory. He has become a regular in the U-21 squad, often wearing the number 10 shirt.

References