Sakho: Lamine

2003-2004 (Player Details)

Left Midfield

Born: Louga, Senegal: 28-09-1977

Debut v Newcastle United (h): 17-08-2003

5’10” 11st 2lb (2003)

Sakho played for Crocodiles before joining Nimes Olympique in 1997. He scored nineteen goals in sixty-two games as he became a regular with the French Club. A fee of £2.2 million saw him moved to RC Lens in 1999 and his good form continued also as he scored eighteen goals in sixty-two League games and also got two more goals in nine appearances in the UEFA Cup. He had been picked for the French Under-Twenty-one team but he saw no further advancement for France at higher International level and he chose to play for Senegal, his country of birth, gaining his first cap in 1999. In January 2002 he was signed by Olympique Marseille and looked to be carrying on where he had left off with RC Lens as he scored five times in twelve games in the rest of his first season. In 2002-03 he followed this up with five goals in twenty-nine games before a change of regime saw him on the outer, which led to him going on loan to Leeds United. He was one of several Marseille players who went on loan to Leeds and sadly for them and Leeds it was to both their detriment as Leeds were in serious financial troubles and Manager Peter Reid was severely restricted in his ability to buy players of the quality needed to meet the demands of life in the EPL. Sakho started off in fine style and looked for a couple of games as if he might be the right replacement for Leeds favourite Harry Kewell. Unfortunately for both parties this was not to be. Sakho featured fairly regularly, albeit largely as a substitute, until the African Cup of Nations, after which he made just one further appearance. With the sacking of Reid, he did not figure in the plans of caretaker-Manager Eddie Gray, who preferred the young wingers Jermaine Pennant and James Milner to the Senegalese International. He was told to return to Marseille before the end of the season and they loaned him to another French club AS St Etienne for the following season. In total he played forty-three games for Marseille, scoring ten times. He scored once in twenty appearances for St Etienne before moving to Second Division Montpellier HSC in January 2007. He scored three times in twelve games in his first part-season. The 2007-08 season saw him not play one full game but he managed thirteen appearances when he was either substituted or came on as a substitute. He join Cypriot Club Alki Lanarca at the start of the 2008-09 season on a one year contract but made only six starts. He moved to Wrexham in the Blue Square Premier League on the 18th September 2009. Sakho joined his fellow French-speakers ex-Leeds Mansour Assoumani and Hedi Taboubi there, and said they were helping him to settle in, adding: “It’s a bonus to have some French-speaking team-mates such as Mani and Hedi to help me settle in, but I’m getting on well with the other lads and am looking forward to playing with them.” Having arrived in Wrexham during the summer, Sakho had proved his fitness sufficiently for Dean Saunders to award him a contract until the end of the season, however, the Dragon's boss would re-evaluate the forward’s progress in January. Sakho said yesterday: “I’m happy to have signed because I’ve worked hard for this and it would be a shame if I hadn’t been able to join Wrexham. “I’m an experienced player so I can give some of the younger players some confidence and hopefully score a lot of goals.” He has featured in five games for Wrexham to the end of September three from the bench and two starts to be substituted after about an hour. He remained with Wrexham until 25th March when his contract was cancelled by mutual agreement, scoring once in fourteen starts and four games from the bench in the League and also played one game in the F.A. Cup. He returned to France to look for a club for the 2010-11 season. He has scored eight times in fifty-seven appearances for Senegal.