Marseille sign Hamed Traore from Bournemouth

Olympique de Marseille have added some more attacking punch to its squad.On Friday, the club announced the signing of Hamed Traore (25), who featured prominently last season on loan at AJ Auxerre.

The Ivorian international was the joint-top goalscorer in Ligue 1 for Christophe Pélissier’s men, as he and Gaëtan Perrin (29) each scored 10 times.

Traore had been under contract with Premier League Bournemouth before officially signing at Marseille.

Roberto De Zerbi, his new manager, said that the attacking midfielder had been on their radar throughout this transfer window.

“This summer, we immediately thought of Traore. He is a very good player, he has already played in France, I have already trained him (in Empoli, between June 2018 and May 2021) he can occupy two or three different positions in attack.”

Traoré featured for the Empoli youth team and played his first two senior seasons with the Tuscany club. De Zerbi said for the moment, they would see how many minutes he has in his legs.The 25-year-old played over five seasons in Italy before coming to Bournemouth initially on loan in late January 2023.

In May of that year, the Cherries announced that a mandatory obligation to buy him had been activated.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Marseille’s initial fee for the English side is €7m, which includes a 50% sell-on clause. He adds that the contract will keep him at Marseille until June 2030.

Traoré has made 10 appearances for the Ivory Coast senior squad, scoring two goals. However, he was not included in Emerse Faé’s team for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. Les Éléphants will face Burundi next Friday before battling Gabon on September 9th. Marseille’s last match before the international window will be on Sunday when they travel to Groupama Stadium to face the undefeated Olympique Lyonnais.