Yakou Méïté

Yakou Méïté (born 11 February 1996) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a winger and striker for Championship side Reading and the Ivory Coast national team.

Yakou Méïté

Personal information
Full name	Yakou Méïté
Date of birth	11 February 1996
Place of birth	Paris, France
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Winger, striker
Club information
Current team	Reading
Number	11
Youth career
2009–2014	Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2016	Paris Saint-Germain B	45	(8)
2015–2016	Paris Saint-Germain	1	(0)
2016–	Reading	103	(32)
2017–2018	→ Sochaux (loan)	31	(3)
National team^‡
2013	Ivory Coast U17	5	(1)
2015	Ivory Coast U20	4	(0)
2017–	Ivory Coast U23	1	(0)
2018–	Ivory Coast	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:03, 9 December 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 October 2019

Club career

Paris Saint Germain

Born in Paris, Méïté started his professional career at Paris Saint-Germain. He made his professional debut on 9 April 2016 in the Ligue 1 against Guingamp replacing Jean-Kévin Augustin after 91 minutes in a 2–0 away win.[1]

Reading

On 29 July 2016, Méïté signed a three-year contract with English side Reading.[2] Méïte made his debut for Reading as a substitute in an EFL Cup tie against Plymouth Argyle on 9 August 2016,[3] with his first goal for the club coming on 21 January 2017, during a 3–2 defeat to Derby County in the Championship.[4]

On 8 July 2017, Méïté moved to Sochaux on a season-long loan deal.[5]

On 3 October 2018, Reading announced that Méïte had signed a new contract with Reading, until the summer of 2022.[6] 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.[7]

In August 2019 Méïté spoke out about racist abuse he received on social media.[8] He said he chose to do so due to the impact it had on players.[9] On 4 July 2020, he scored four goals in a 5–0 win away at Luton Town.[10]

International career

Méïté was born and raised in France to Ivorian parents. He has played for the Ivory Coast U17s and U20s.[11] He debuted for the Ivory Coast U23s in a 5–0 friendly win over the Togo U23s on 27 March 2018.[12]

Méïté was also called up to the senior Ivory Coast squad for a friendly against Togo in March 2018.[13] He was selected for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Guinea on 18 November 2018.[14] He made his debut for Ivory Coast on 26 March 2019 in a 1–0 victory over Liberia, playing 73 minutes before being replaced by eventual goalscorer Jonathan Kodjia.[15]

Style of play

Méïté is a physically strong player. He has impressive strength, ability in the air, speed and tireless stamina. Paul Clement praised him for his workrate and willingness to battle for every ball.[7]

Career statistics

As of matches played 12 December 2020[11]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Paris Saint-Germain B	2013–14	CFA	1	0	—		—		—		—		1	0
	2014–15	CFA	20	6	—		—		—		—		20	6
	2015–16	CFA	24	2	—		—		—		—		24	2
	Total		45	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	45	8
Paris Saint-Germain	2015–16	Ligue 1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Reading	2016–17	Championship	14	1	0	0	1	0	—		0	0	15	1
	2018–19	Championship	37	12	1	0	2	1	—		—		40	13
	2019–20	Championship	40	13	3	2	2	2	—		—		45	17
	2020–21	Championship	12	6	0	0	0	0	—		—		12	6
	Total		103	32	4	2	5	3	0	0	0	0	112	37
Reading U21	2016–17	—			—		—		—		1[lower-alpha 1]	0	1	0
Sochaux (loan)	2017–18	Ligue 2	31	3	3	2	1	0	—		—		35	5
Career total			179	43	7	4	6	3	0	0	1	0	194	50

1. Appearance in EFL Trophy

International

As of match played 13 October 2019

Ivory Coast
Year	Apps	Goals
2018	1	0
2019	1	0
Total	2	0

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain U19

• Championnat National U19: 2015–16
• UEFA Youth League runner-up: 2015–16

Paris Saint-Germain

• Ligue 1: 2015–16

Reading U23

• Premier League Cup runner-up: 2016–17

References

1. "Guingamp vs. PSG - 9 April 2016 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
2. "Royals swoop to sign Yakou Meite". reading.co.uk. Reading F.C. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
3. "Reading 2-0 Plymouth". BBC. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
4. "Derby 3-2 Reading". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 21 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
5. "Meite returns to France for loan season at Sochaux". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 8 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
6. "Méïté pens new long-term deal as a Royal". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
7. ""Fighting spirit and attitude… Yakou has that in abundance!"". www.readingfc.co.uk.
8. "Yakou Meite: Reading striker calls out racist abuse". BBC Sport. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
9. "Yakou Meite: Reading striker chose to share racist abuse to demonstrate impact on players". BBC Sport. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
10. "Luton 0-5 Reading". BBC. 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
11. Yakou Méïté at Soccerway. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
12. Ewan. "Yakou Méïté et les U23 de la Côte d'Ivoire s'imposent face au Togo". fcsochaux.fr.
13. "Togo vs Ivory Coast". ESPN. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
14. http://www.fifciv.com/?q=elim-can-2019-5%C3%A8-j-guiciv-voici-les-23-el%C3%A9phants-s%C3%A9lectionn%C3%A9s
15. "CÔTE D'IVOIRE 1-0 LIBERIA". soccerway.com/. Soccerway. Retrieved 26 March 2019.

External links

• Yakou Méïté at WorldFootball.net