Yakou Méïté (born 11 February 1996) is a French-Ivorian professional

football player A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

Striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

for English

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

club

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

and the Ivory Coast national team.

Personal Life

Méïté was born and raised in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to Ivorian parents.

Club career

Paris Saint Germain

Born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, Méïté started his professional career at

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

. He made his professional debut on 9 April 2016, in a

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

match against

Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 6,895 as of 2017, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guinga ...

, replacing

Jean-Kévin Augustin Jean-Kévin Augustin (born 16 June 1997) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for Swiss Super League club Basel. An academy graduate of French club Paris Saint-Germain, Augustin made his senior debut in 2015 and made 31 a ...

after 91 minutes, in a 2–0 away win.

Reading

On 29 July 2016, Méïté signed a three-year contract with English side

. He made his debut for Reading as a substitute in an

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

tie against

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

on 9 August 2016, with his first goal for the club coming on 21 January 2017, during a 3–2 defeat to

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

. On 8 July 2017, Méïté moved to

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy Soc ...

, on a season-long loan deal. On 3 October 2018, Reading announced that Méïté had signed a new contract with Reading, until the summer of 2022. On his return to Reading, he became a mainstay as the club's striker and scored 6 goals in 5 games, impressing manager

Paul Clement Paul Drew Clement (born June 24, 1966) is an American lawyer who served as U.S. Solicitor General from 2004 to 2008 and is known for his advocacy before the U.S. Supreme Court. He established his own law firm, Clement & Murphy, in 2022 after le ...

. In August 2019, Méïté spoke out about racist abuse he received on social media. He said he chose to do so due to the impact it had on players. On 4 July 2020, he scored four goals in a 5–0 win away at

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

International career

Méïté has represented the Ivory Coast U17s and U20s. He debuted for the Ivory Coast U23s in a 5–0 friendly win over the Togo U23s on 27 March 2018. Méïté was called up to the senior

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

squad for a friendly against

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

in March 2018. He was selected for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

on 18 November 2018. He made his debut for the Ivory Coast on 26 March 2019, in a 1–0 victory over

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, playing 73 minutes before being replaced by eventual goalscorer

Jonathan Kodjia Jonathan Adjo Kodjia (born 22 October 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Umm Salal in the Qatar Stars League. Born in France, he represents the Ivory Coast national team at International level. Kodjia started his car ...

Style of play

Méïté is a physically strong player. He has impressive strength, ability in the air, speed and tireless stamina.

praised him for his workrate and willingness to battle for every ball.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain U19 *

Championnat National U19 The Championnat National U19 is the highest tier of under-19 football in France. Organized by the French Football Federation, it is contested by 56 clubs that are split into 4 groups. History In 2009, the ''Championnat National 18 ans'' of Fra ...

: 2015–16 *

UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the youth teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League ...

runner-up: 2015–16 Paris Saint-Germain *

: 2015–16

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Méïté, Yakou 1996 births Living people Footballers from Paris French footballers Ivorian footballers Association football wingers French sportspeople of Ivorian descent Paris Saint-Germain F.C. players Reading F.C. players FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players Ligue 1 players English Football League players Ligue 2 players Ivory Coast youth international footballers Ivory Coast under-20 international footballers Ivory Coast international footballers Expatriate footballers in England Ivorian expatriate footballers Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in England