Youssouf Kone: Mali left-back joins Aviron Bayonnais after spell without club

Mali defender Youssouf Kone has joined French side Aviron Bayonnais, ending his spell without a club with a move to the National 1 outfit.

The 31-year-old left-back, who was born in Bamako and stands at 1.74m, has signed on after leaving JS Kabylie in March 2025 and subsequently being unattached. His arrival gives Aviron Bayonnais an experienced option on the left side of defence as they prepare for the new campaign in Group B of the French third tier.

Kone’s career has taken him through the upper levels of European football, including Ligue 1, LaLiga, the Turkish Super Lig and the Belgian Jupiler Pro League. He has made more than 80 Ligue 1 appearances across his time in France, as well as featuring in the UEFA Champions League.

The left-footer’s club journey began in Mali with JMG Bamako and AS Bakaridjan before he moved to Europe, joining Lille’s reserve side in 2013. He progressed into Lille’s first team and later earned a transfer to Lyon in 2019, a deal that followed a loan spell at Reims in which he helped the club win the French second tier in 2017-18.

Spells at Elche, Hatayspor, Troyes, AC Ajaccio and RWDM, largely via loans from Lyon, added further top-flight experience in Spain, Turkey and Belgium before his move to Algeria with JS Kabylie and subsequent return to free agency.

Kone’s switch to Aviron Bayonnais, completed on 22 July 2026, marks the latest step in a career that now continues in the French National 1.