Souleymane Coulibaly

Souleymane Coulibaly
Born	(1994-12-26) December 26, 1994 Ivory Coast
Occupation	Professional footballer
Known for	Striker for Pickering Town

Souleymane Coulibaly (born 26 December 1994) is a professional footballer from Ivory Coast who occupies the striker position and currently plays for the English non-league side Pickering Town.

Early life

At the age of 13, Coulibaly relocated to Italy to escape the conflict in his native Ivory Coast, joining his father who had remarried an Italian woman.

Siena

Upon settling in Italy, Coulibaly became part of the Junior Camp Arezzo Football Academy, a prominent Tuscan training institution. He featured for their Allievi Regionali squad before being recommended to Siena by the club’s president, Umberto Zerbini. During the 2010–11 season, he made ten appearances for Siena’s under-19 team and scored once.

Tottenham Hotspur

Coulibaly was signed by Tottenham Hotspur on 18 July 2011, following his achievement as top scorer at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. He marked his debut for Tottenham Hotspur XI by scoring against Brighton and Hove Albion in Algarve.

On 31 August 2011, he scored twice in a 7–1 youth victory over Inter Milan during the NextGen Tournament and opened the scoring in a 2–1 win at PSV Eindhoven. In the FA Youth Cup on 22 December 2011, Coulibaly netted a last-minute winner against Stevenage, followed by a goal in a 2–1 triumph over Cardiff City in January 2012. His first-team debut for Tottenham came as a substitute during a pre-season friendly versus Stevenage on 18 July 2012.

Grosseto (loan)

On 25 January 2013, Coulibaly joined Italian Serie B club Grosseto on loan until the end of that season, where he scored two goals across twelve matches.

Bari

In September 2014, Coulibaly was transferred to Bari and was immediately sent out on loan to Pistoiese.

Peterborough United

Following a trial period, Coulibaly signed with Peterborough United on 20 July 2015 alongside teammates Andrew Fox and Kieran Sadlier. He started five matches and made nine substitute appearances, tallying eight goals overall. On 24 March 2016, he was loaned to Newport County for the rest of the 2015–16 campaign. He debuted on 2 April in a 1–0 victory over Yeovil Town, scoring his first goal for Newport on 23 April against Luton Town.

Kilmarnock

In June 2016, Coulibaly signed for Scottish Premiership outfit Kilmarnock. He scored on his debut during a League Cup match resulting in a 2–1 win against Clyde, concluding his stint with eleven goals from twenty-six appearances.

Al Ahly

After negotiations involving Cairo-based clubs Al Ahly and Zamalek, Coulibaly committed to reigning champions Al Ahly on a three-and-a-half-year deal starting 24 January 2017. The transfer fee paid to Kilmarnock was £800,000. On 25 May 2017, he unexpectedly departed Egypt without notifying the club. Subsequently, on 4 June, Coulibaly stated via Twitter that he experienced feelings of oppression and insecurity while at Al Ahly—a claim contested by former African players associated with the team. Al Ahly lodged a complaint with FIFA, seeking damages. On 25 April 2018, FIFA ruled against Coulibaly, ordering him to pay $1,436,000 in compensation to Al Ahly.

Partick Thistle

In August 2018, Coulibaly signed with Scottish Championship club Partick Thistle, subject to receiving international clearance. Although the Egyptian Football Association initially declined the clearance request, FIFA issued a provisional certificate in October 2018. Coulibaly was subsequently released by Partick Thistle in May 2019.

Etoile SS

Coulibaly joined Tunisian outfit Etoile SS in May 2019.

ES Sétif

On 19 August 2023, Coulibaly became a member of ES Sétif, departing the club on 19 February 2024.

Hull United AFC

In October 2024, Coulibaly made a substitute appearance for Humber Premier League side Hull United during a match against Hornsea Town. One week later, he was in the starting lineup for an East Riding Senior Cup fixture against Bridlington Town, where he netted an equalizer in the 84th minute, leading to a penalty shootout victory in which he also scored.

International career

Souleymane Coulibaly launched his international journey with the Ivory Coast national under-17 football team at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup, where he tallied nine goals across four matches: scoring once against Australia, four times versus Denmark, and achieving a hat-trick against Brazil. He also found the net in a 2–3 defeat to France during the Round of 16. At that time, Coulibaly shared the tournament record for most goals scored in a single edition with French forward Florent Sinama Pongolle, who had nine goals over six games, while Coulibaly accomplished this feat in only four matches. He contributed nine out of his team’s total ten goals, maintaining an average exceeding one goal per half played. This record was eventually overtaken by Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, who scored ten goals in seven matches at the 2015 tournament.

His standout performances drew attention from prominent clubs such as Manchester United and Real Madrid before he ultimately signed with Tottenham. Media outlets dubbed him the "New Drogba," alluding to fellow Ivorian star Didier Drogba.

Coulibaly also earned a single cap for the Ivory Coast national under-21 team during a friendly match resulting in a 5–1 loss to France.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Tottenham Hotspur	2012–13	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2013–14	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Grosseto (loan)	2012–13	Serie B	12	2	0	0	0	0	—		12	2
Bari	2014–15	Serie B	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Pistoiese (loan)	2014–15	Lega Pro	25	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	25	3
Peterborough United	2015–16	League One	27	5	2	0	2	0	1	0	32	5
Newport County (loan)	2015–16	League Two	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	1
Kilmarnock	2016–17	Scottish Premiership	21	8	1	0	4	3	—		26	11
Al Ahly	2016–17	(Egyptian Premier League)	(9)	(6)	(1)	(0)
Data incomplete for Al Ahly season; figures reflect available statistics only.

Club	Season	Division	League Apps	League Goals	Cup Apps	Cup Goals	Other Apps	Other Goals	Total Apps	Total Goals																												} External links