Youssouf Kone has signed for Olympique Lyon from French Ligue 1 rivals Lille for a fee of €9 million on a five-year contract.
Kone, a graduate of Lille academy, made his Ligue 1 debut in 2014. In the 2018/19 season, he made 20 league appearances for the Great Danes as they finished as runners-up behind Paris Saint-Germain.
The left-back featured for Mali in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, where the Eagles were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Cote-d’Ivoire.
"I am pleased to introduce Youssouf Kone who played in the Africa Cup of Nations. I thank him for coming back so quickly. He signed a five-year contract for 9 million euros," president of Lyon Jean-Michel Aulas told the club’s Twitter channel.
"I am very happy to welcome Youssouf. He is a young man who has progressed well. He's going to take a few days off. I'm sure he'll be very happy with us."
The 24-year-old is delighted with the opportunity to continue his development at the Groupama Stadium.
"I am very, very happy to join the OL. I'm going to take a step forward with coach Sylvinho. I want to reach the highest level possible," he said.
“I've had several offers. When I became aware of the OL offer, I put all the other offers aside. It was obvious that I was joining the club.”
Kone could make his debut for Lyon against Arsenal in the Emirates Cup on Sunday, July 28.
