One of the rising prospects of the French soccer program is joining Newcastle United of the English Premier League. On Friday, defensive midfielder Aladji Bamba of Blois, France signed a five-year contract according to the Associated Press. The transfer fee was worth 34 million pounds.
The fact that Newcastle United is committing to a player in the 30+ million pound range who has never played a game internationally on the French National Senior Team may raise eyebrows. However, one must take into consideration how deep the French men’s national soccer team is at the moment. There is a possibility that Bamba could join the French national team in the immediate future after France stunningly gave up eight goals on their last two World Cup games.
Bamba played three years in the French national junior soccer programs. He had one goal in 21 games from 2023 to 2025. Bamba’s goal came in the French U19 program in Euro U19 qualifying in 2025.
This past season, Bambi played for A.S. Monaco. He did not score a goal, but did have two assists. Bambi’s helpers were not much help for Monaco as they came in two losses in Ligue 1 action. The first was in a 4-1 A.S. Monaco loss to Paris FC on April 10, and the second was in a very high scoring 5-4 loss to Strasbourg.
Bamba is one of two defensive midfielders to make soccer headlines this past week. Belgium is signing former defensive midfielder Mark van Bommel as their new bench boss.
