Monaco have confirmed the transfer of French fullback Djibril Sidibe from fellow Ligue 1 outfit Lille.
France under-21 fullback Djibril Sidibe has joined Ligue 1 heavyweights AS Monaco despite a keen interest from Premier League club Arsenal. It was earlier reported by L’Equipe that Monaco had agreed a €15 million transfer fee on Monday for the defender with his club Lille and were in talks to sign the Frenchman. But, there were reports that Arsenal had entered the race for the highly rated full-back as Arsene Wenger had made signing the Frenchman a priority.
Djibril Sidibe has seemingly shunned the Arsenal approach as AS Monaco officially announced the signing of the 23-year-old on their website. The former Lille defender has signed a five year deal with the Ligue 1 club that runs till 2021.
L’AS Monaco est heureux d’annoncer la signature de Djibril Sidibé ! #WelcomeToMonaco
?➡ https://t.co/HWVUzF8ayo pic.twitter.com/rfEnDum5kb
— AS MONACO (@AS_Monaco) July 8, 2016
AS Monaco CEO Vadim Vasilyev was delighted with the capture and had a few words to say about the French defender.
“Like Benjamin Mendy, Djibril Sidibe is a talented defender who, despite his young age, has solid experience at professional level and in Ligue 1.We are delighted to welcome Djibril to AS Monaco’s sporting project, and his arrival reflects our commitment to strengthening the quality of our defence, and the squad as a whole.”
Djibril Sidibe was unveiled as an AS Monaco player for the first time and was visibly happy with the move.
“I’m very proud to sign for AS Monaco, a historic club in the French league,” Sidibe told Monaco’s official website. I’m very happy to be here. I’m focused on the sporting side and AS Monaco is the club I was looking for, to take my career to the next level.”
Djibril Sidibe is a versatile full back who can play on either side of the defense, and can also be deployed as a wide midfielder. The full-back is known for his defensive contributions but is equally efficient in attacking and creating chances for his teammates. The 23-year-old racked up 4 goals last season – a feat which could not be achieved by any other French defender across Europe’s top five leagues.
Sidibe is a very well rounded player with visible strengths in his ability to defend, cross and find teammates with ease. The full-back has a strong tackle and a mean shot on him. His only real weakness lies in his inability to hold up the ball.
The 23-year-old is well experienced for a player of his age having racked up close to 100 appearances in the Ligue 1 with former clubs Troyes and LOSC Lille. This experience will help him establish himself at AS Monaco and he will hope to get a taste of domestic as well as European success.
