Tottenham Hotspur, an English club who boast such a rich history and prestige, have had no shortage of goal-getting strikers over the years – from Jimmy Greaves to Jermain Defoe to Harry Kane. But that’s not to say that it’s always been sunshine and rainbows.
Daniel Levy and his entourage, who have made their fair share of hodgepodge deals over the years, were grinning from ear to ear when they managed to fend off the fierce competition for Souleymane Coulibaly’s signature in the summer of 2011.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Coulibaly, in 18 outings for Spurs’ Under-18s, plundered five goals and three assists.
Likened to fellow countryman and Chelsea legend Didier Drogba, there was plenty of excitement among the White Hart Lane echo chamber for the arrival of the £2 million-rated marksman, who was in Siena’s youth ranks at the turn of the decade.
Spurs acted the quickest, though he never made a senior appearance in the north of the English capital. 14 years have been and gone since his arrival, but what is Coulibaly, who became something of a veteran journeyman, up to nowadays?
Spurs Beat Man Utd and Real Madrid to Coulibaly's Signature
The striker had just won the Golden Boot at U17 World Cup
Back in 2011, Coulibaly was riding on the crest of a wave after winning the Golden Boot at the Under-17 World Cup. The line leader, now 30 years of age, had poached nine goals for the Ivory Coast and Spurs were therefore interested in his signature.
At the tender age of 16 years and six months, the uncapped Ivorian notched two hat-tricks in Mexico – but his topsy-turvy stint with Spurs, who offered him the chance to be promoted to Harry Redknapp’s first-team immediately, serves as a cautionary tale that playing in England really is not everyone’s cup of tea.
What with European heavyweight duo Real Madrid and Manchester United also keen to acquire the centre-forward’s goalscoring exploits, the north Londoners must have felt as if they had struck gold by winning the tug-of-war for Coulibaly.
Coulibaly instantly drew comparisons to Drogba – widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers in Premier League history – because of his uncanny blend of deadly finishing and explosive power and striker's instinct, which saw him pop up in the right place at the right time.
“They started calling me the new Drogba after the Under-17 World Cup,” he said, as reported by the BBC back in 2016, before adding that he had never met the aforementioned Ivorian talisman. “But he is a legend, and it would just be nice to meet him.”
Coulibaly, speaking on The Set Piece Podcast in 2020, believed that moving to England to play under Redknapp was the best move at the time given the high ambition at the club. “Tottenham went to Italy and made me the offer,” he said.
“It was a good opportunity for me. The ambition was good there, so I signed. The programme at Tottenham was really good for young player They were planning what they were going to do with the training ground, and I could develop with a young team. It was a fantastic opportunity for me."
He was rubbing shoulders with the stars, he admitted. “I started training with the first team when I was 16 years old, with Jermain Defoe, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale. Harry Redknapp was the one who brought me there. It was a fantastic experience.”
The Archetypal Journeyman: Souleymane Coulibaly
Now 30, he’s played in Italy, England, Egypt and Cyprus
As you could probably guess, things didn’t go to plan at Spurs – and from there onwards, Coulibaly made a name for himself by swapping clubs as if it was going out of fashion. Now, he earns his corn for Pickering Town, a team based in North Yorkshire.
Coulibaly then returned to England, signing for Peterborough United on a permanent basis and a free transfer in 2015. For Posh, he notched five goals in 32 League One showings – but was sent on loan, to the division below, the following season.
The centre-forward – who had the pleasure of playing alongside London-born Kane, who is now admired as one of the best strikers in world football, in Spurs’ youth set-up – then bounced about the globe playing for a host of different teams in a host of different countries, not least Al Ahly in Egypt.
Stints in Scotland, Tunisia, Cyprus and Algeria all beckoned before he found himself without a club in the early stages of 2024. Nuova Florida of Italy picked him up later on in the year; he then moved to Hull United and now, he’s at Pickering.
