Armand Gnanduillet

Armand Gnanduillet
Born	Armand Erwan Djihounou Gnanduillet (1992-02-13) February 13, 1992 Angers, France
Occupation	Professional footballer
Years active	2010–present
Known for	Football forward for Sochaux, Ivory Coast youth international

Armand Erwan Djihounou Gnanduillet (born 13 February 1992) is a professional football forward currently representing Sochaux. Although born in France to parents of Ivorian descent, he has played internationally for the Ivory Coast at youth level.

Gnanduillet's football journey started at CS Lanrelas in Brittany, after which he progressed to Le Havre and later Poissy. He featured for the Ivory Coast under-20 side and was selected for their squad at the 2011 CAF African Under-23 Championships.

Early life

Born in Angers, France, Gnanduillet is of Ivorian heritage. He obtained French citizenship on 6 September 2000 through the naturalization of his parents.

France

His early playing days were with CS Lanrelas in Brittany before moving to Le Havre, where he appeared 24 times for the reserve team, scoring three goals, but did not break into the senior squad. In 2012, he transferred to Poissy, where he found the net five times in 11 matches.

Chesterfield

On 21 January 2013, following a trial period, Gnanduillet secured a contract with Chesterfield until the end of that season under manager Paul Cook. In his debut for Chesterfield's reserve side against Belper Town during the Derbyshire Senior Cup, he scored within 39 minutes. His first goal in English league football came off the bench against AFC Wimbledon, where he converted a cross into the top corner just 20 minutes after entering. His first start occurred on 2 March 2013 versus Dagenham & Redbridge.

Following the conclusion of the 2012–13 campaign, Gnanduillet earned a two-year contract extension. One highlight included scoring a last-minute winner against Southend United that ended their unbeaten streak. Despite suffering a head injury during a League Two match against Burton Albion, he was awarded Man of the Match honors. Additionally, he successfully converted a penalty in a victory over York City. In August 2014, an incident involving alleged racist abuse directed at Gnanduillet during a fixture at Port Vale prompted investigations by Chesterfield, Port Vale, and local police authorities.

On 20 October 2014, Gnanduillet joined League Two club Tranmere Rovers on a one-month loan spell. Later, in March 2015, he was loaned to Oxford United for the remainder of that season. After making four substitute appearances for Oxford, Chesterfield recalled him ahead of schedule.

Leyton Orient

Gnanduillet transferred to Leyton Orient on 22 January 2016 for an undisclosed fee.

Blackpool

On 19 August 2016, he signed a two-year contract with Blackpool. After completing two seasons there, he briefly moved to South African club Baroka before returning to Blackpool two months later. During the 2018–19 season, he finished as Blackpool’s leading goalscorer with fourteen goals in all competitions. He was released by Blackpool in June 2020.

Altay

Gnanduillet signed a one-year contract with Turkish second-tier outfit Altay on 12 August 2020. He departed the club by mutual agreement on 29 December 2020 after scoring twice in fifteen appearances.

Heart of Midlothian

On 25 January 2021, Gnanduillet committed to Scottish Championship side Heart of Midlothian with an 18-month deal. He marked his first appearance by coming off the bench and netting two goals against Raith Rovers. That season concluded with Hearts achieving promotion to the Scottish Premiership.

Le Mans

After spending a year with Hearts, Gnanduillet transferred on 21 January 2022 to Le Mans, a club competing in the Championnat National, on a permanent basis.

Sochaux

Gnanduillet agreed to a two-year contract with Sochaux on 10 July 2024.

International career

Gnanduillet has played for the Ivory Coast at the under-20 level in international competition.

Career statistics

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Domestic Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Le Havre II	2010–11	CFA	6	0	—		—		—		6	0
	2011–12	CFA	19	2	—		—		—		19	2
	Total		25	2	—		—		—		25	2
Poissy	2012–13	CFA	11	5	—		—		—		11	5
Chesterfield	2012–13	League Two	13	3	—		—		—		13	3
	2013–14	League Two	34	5	2	0	1	0	2	1	39	6
	2014–15	League One	26	2	5	1	1	0	3	1	35	3
	2015–16	League One	9	0	—		1	0	1	0	11	0
	Total		82	10	7	1	3	0	6	1	98	11
Tranmere Rovers (loan)	2014–15	League Two	4	2	—		—		—		4	2
Oxford United (loan)	2014–15	League Two	4	0	—		—		—		4	0
Stevenage (loan)	2015–16	League Two	14	5	2	1	—		—		16	6
Leyton Orient	2015–16	League Two	17	4	—		—		—		17	4
	2016–17	League Two	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
	Total		18	4	—		—		—		18	4
Blackpool	2016–17	League Two	19	3	1	0	1	0	5	3	26	6
	2017–18	League One	26	4	1	0	1	1	3	0	31	5
	2018–19	League One	43	10	3	1	3	2	3	1	52	14
	get total stats for Blackpool
	Total		118	32	8	3	6	4	13	4	145	43

Honours

Chesterfield

• League Two Champions: 2013–14 season
• Football League Trophy Finalists: 2013–14

Blackpool

• EFL League Two play-offs Winners: 2017

Heart of Midlothian

• Scottish Championship Title: 2020–21

Individual

• PFA Team of the Year Selection: 2019–20 League One