Lamine Mandela Keita (born 10 May 2002) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Italian Serie A club Parma and the Belgium national team.[2] Born in Belgium, Keita is of Guinean descent.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lamine Mandela Keita[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 10 May 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Leuven, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Parma | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2021 | OH Leuven | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2024 | OH Leuven | 27 | (0) |
| 2023 | → Antwerp (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | → Antwerp (loan) | 28 | (0) |
| 2024 | Antwerp | 5 | (0) |
| 2024– | Parma | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021– | Belgium U21 | 12 | (0) |
| 2023– | Belgium | 1 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 August 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:33, 30 November 2024 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editKeita debuted for OH Leuven on 21 March 2021 in the away match against Mechelen.[3] Due to injury and lengthy recovery, Keita spent most of the first half of the 2022–23 season on the bench.
During the winter 2022–23 transfer window, Keita was loaned to Antwerp to get more playing time, with a 10 million Euro buy clause. At Antwerp, Keita played regularly and scored his first professional league goal as Antwerp became league champions for the first time in 66 years.
Keita was selected as part of the Belgium U21 squad for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He returned to OHL in the summer of 2023, where he had a contract until 2025. Antwerp wanted to continue with Keita and after months of negotiations, and after Keita began appearing in the OH Leuven shirt, he was loaned again to Antwerp on 10 August 2023 for a full season, again with an estimated 7-8 million Euro buy clause.[4]
International career
editHe represented Guinea at youth international level, having played for the Belgium U21s.[6]
In October 2023, he received his first call-up to the Belgium senior national team for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Austria and Sweden.[7]
Honours
editRoyal Antwerp
References
edit- ^ "Mandela Keita: Player profile".
- ^ Mandela Keita at Soccerway
- ^ "Debuut Keita, terugkeer Tshimanga" [Debut Keita, return Tshimanga]. ohleuven.com. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "Mandela Keita naar Antwerp". OHL - Oud-Heverlee Leuven (in Flemish). 8 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ^ "MANDELA KEITA IS A GIALLOBLU". Parma Calcio 1913. 30 August 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
- ^ Meersseman, Herman (6 May 2021). "OHL-jeugdproduct Mandela Keita: "Hard werken voor een basisplaats"". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ^ "Niet Arthur Vermeeren, wel Mandela Keita is de grote verrassing in selectie Rode Duivels" [No Arthur Vermeeren, but Mandela Keita is the big surprise in the selection of the Red Devils]. sporza.be (in Dutch). Sporza. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
External links
edit
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