Eboue Kouassi

Jules Christ Eboue Kouassi (born 13 December 1997) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Liga Portugal 2 club União de Leiria.

Eboue Kouassi

Kouassi with Krasnodar in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Jules Christ Eboue Kouassi
Date of birth	(1997-12-13) 13 December 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth	Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	União de Leiria
Youth career
2010–2014	Académie Symbiose Foot d'Abobo
2014	Shirak
2014–2016	Krasnodar
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2017	Krasnodar	10	(0)
2017–2020	Celtic	22	(0)
2020	→ Genk (loan)	4	(0)
2020–2023	Genk	18	(0)
2021–2022	→ Arouca (loan)	19	(1)
2023	Jong Genk	2	(0)
2023–2025	Arouca	25	(0)
2025–	União de Leiria	0	(0)
International career
2021	Ivory Coast Olympic	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 February 2025

Club career

Early career

Kouassi played for Académie Symbiose Foot d'Abobo in the Ivory Coast before moving to Armenian club Shirak in early 2014.^[1] In the summer of 2014 he joined the youth system of Russian club Krasnodar.^[1]

Krasnodar

In December 2015, Kouassi signed a new contract with Krasnodar.^[2] Kouassi made his debut for Krasnodar on 21 May 2016, in a 1–0 victory against Amkar Perm in the Russian Premier League.^[3] He became a regular the following season, 2016–17, playing in a total of 18 matches by the end of December 2016 and helping his side to fifth place in the league.^[4] During this time, Kouassi also scored his first goal; opening the scoring in a 3–0 win over Maltese side Birkirkara in a UEFA Europa League tie on 4 August 2016.^[5][6]

Celtic

On 3 January 2017, it was reported that Scottish Premiership club Celtic had agreed a transfer fee of around £3 million with Krasnodar to sign Eboue Kouassi.^[7] Celtic announced the signing of Kouassi on a four-year-contract, subject to obtaining a visa, on 12 January 2017.^[8]

Kouassi made 22 first-team appearances for Celtic in his first three years with the club. He was loaned to Belgian club Genk in January 2020.^[9]

Genk

Kouassi signed for Genk on 1 July 2020, for €1.5 million.

Arouca

On 31 August 2021, Kouassi was loaned to Arouca.^[10] On 7 July 2023, Arouca announced the free signing of Kouassi on a free transfer, with the player signing a two-year deal.^[11]

União de Leiria

On 4 February 2025, Kouassi signed with Liga Portugal 2 club União de Leiria until the end of the season.^[12]

International career

Kouassi was called up to the Ivory Coast national team for the first time in November 2016, for a 2018 World Cup qualification match against Morocco and a friendly against France.^[13] However, he was an unused substitute in both matches.^[14][15]

Career statistics

As of match played 1 February 2020^[16]

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
Krasnodar	2015–16	Russian Premier League	1	0	0	0	–		0	0	–		1	0
	2016–17	Russian Premier League	9	0	0	0	–		9	1	–		18	1
	Total		10	0	0	0	–		9	1	–		19	1
Celtic	2016–17	Scottish Premiership	4	0	1	0	0	0	–		–		5	0
	2017–18	Scottish Premiership	6	0	2	0	1	0	3	0	–		12	0
	2018–19	Scottish Premiership	2	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	–		5	0
	2019–20	Scottish Premiership	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	–		0	0
	Total		12	0	3	0	2	0	5	0	–		22	0
Genk (loan)	2019–20	Jupiler Pro League	1	0	0	0	–		0	0	0	0	1	0
Career total			23	0	4	0	1	0	14	1	–		42	1

Honours

Celtic

• Scottish Premiership: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19
• Scottish Cup: 2016–17, 2017–18^[17][18]
• Scottish League Cup: 2017–18, 2018–19

References

1. "ЭБУЭ КУАССИ" [Eboue Kouassi] (in Russian). FC Krasnodar. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
2. "18-летний ивуарийский полузащитник Куасси перешёл в Краснодар". championat.com (in Russian). Championat. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
3. "Game Report by PFL". Russian Football Premier League. 21 May 2016.
4. "Celtic to move for Ivory Coast midfielder Kouassi Eboué - Sky sources". Sky Sports. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
5. "KRASNODAR VS. BIRKIRKARA 3 - 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
6. Sansun, David (24 November 2016). "Ones To Watch – Kouassi Eboué". Russian Football News. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
7. "Celtic agree £3m fee with Krasnodar for Kouassi Eboue". STV Sport. 3 January 2016. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
8. "Celtic complete signing of Kouassi Eboue subject to visa". celticfc.net. Celtic F.C. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
9. "Eboue Kouassi: Celtic midfielder moves to Genk on loan". BBC Sport. 23 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
10. "Genk empresta Eboué Kouassi ao Arouca" [Genk loans Eboué Kouassi to Arouca]. Record. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
11. "OFICIAL: Eboué Kouassi regressa ao Arouca" [Official: Eboué Kouassie returns to Arouca]. Maisfutebol (in Portuguese). 7 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
12. "Eboué Kouassi reforça a União de Leiria" [Eboué Kouassi strengthens União de Leiria] (in Portuguese). União de Leiria. 4 February 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
13. "Injured Gervinho out of Ivory Coast squad". Yahoo! Sports. 2 November 2016. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
14. "Morocco vs. Côte d'Ivoire 0–0". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
15. "France vs. Côte d'Ivoire 0–0". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
16. Eboue Kouassi at Soccerway
17. "K. Eboue". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
18. "Scottish Cup 2018". BBC. Retrieved 27 May 2020.

External links

• Eboue Kouassi at Celtic FC (archived)
• Eboue Kouassi at Russian Premier League
• Eboue Kouassi at Soccerbase