Ibrahima Balde joins Lorient after five-goal start for Rodez

French-Senegalese centre-forward Ibrahima Balde has joined Ligue 1 club FC Lorient from Rodez AF on loan.

The 23-year-old completed the move on 1 September 2026 after scoring five goals in four Ligue 2 appearances for Rodez at the beginning of the 2026-27 season. Balde started all four matches and played 344 minutes, scoring once every 69 minutes.

Balde moves up a division after two years with Rodez, whom he joined from Lens on a free transfer in July 2024. He had previously been on Lens’ books, including a loan spell at FC Annecy during the 2022-23 campaign.

The Paris-born striker is listed as a centre-forward and is right-footed. He stands 1.85m tall and has made an immediate scoring impact in the opening weeks of the new season, contributing to half of Rodez’s recorded goal involvements during his appearances.

His arrival gives Lorient a forward who has already been regularly involved at senior level in France’s professional league system. Lorient are competing in Ligue 1, while Rodez play in Ligue 2, making the move a step up for the player.

Balde began his development at Red Star before joining the RC Lens youth system in 2018. He progressed through the club’s under-17 and under-19 teams before moving into the reserve side and then the senior Lens squad.

He spent the 2022-23 season on loan at Annecy, returning to Lens at the end of that campaign before departing permanently for Rodez in 2024. His previous senior moves have therefore included both loan and free-transfer arrangements, while his latest switch to Lorient is specifically a loan transfer.

The deal places Balde at Lorient through the 2026-27 campaign, with the recorded loan ending on 30 June 2027. His listed market value is €2m.

Balde has now completed his loan move from Rodez AF to FC Lorient.