Boulaye Dia

Boulaye Dia

Dia with Reims in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Boulaye Dia [1]
Date of birth	(1996-11-16) 16 November 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Oyonnax, France
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Lazio (on loan from Salernitana)
Number	19
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2018	Jura Sud	21	(15)
2018	Reims II	6	(2)
2018–2021	Reims	78	(24)
2021–2023	Villarreal	25	(5)
2022–2023	→ Salernitana (loan)	33	(16)
2023–	Salernitana	17	(4)
2024–	→ Lazio (loan)	13	(4)
International career‡
2020–	Senegal	30	(7)
Medal record Representing   Senegal Africa Cup of Nations Winner 2021 Cameroon
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:30, 8 December 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:51, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Boulaye Dia (born 16 November 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Lazio, on loan from Salernitana. Born in France, he plays for the Senegal national team.

Club career

Reims

Dia signed a professional contract with Reims on 16 July 2018 after a successful debut season with Jara Sud, where he scored 15 goals in 21 games. ^[2] He made his professional debut with Reims in a 1–1 Ligue 1 tie with Angers on 20 October 2018. ^[3]

On 25 October 2020, Dia scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 win against Montpellier, thereby becoming the first Reims player to score one in the top flight since Santiago Santamaría in 1978. The win was the club's first in the league in the 2020–21 season. ^[4]

Villarreal

On 13 July 2021, Villarreal announced the signing of Dia on a five-year deal from Reims. On his first official debut for Villarreal, which was against Chelsea in the 2021 UEFA Super Cup, he received lots of praise for his fine display. ^[5]

Loan move to Salernitana

On 18 August 2022, Dia went to Serie A club Salernitana on loan for one year, with a buyout clause. ^[6]

Lazio

On 16 August 2024, Dia joined Lazio on a two-season loan, with a conditional obligation to buy. ^[7]

International career

Born in France, Dia holds French and Senegalese nationalities. He was called up to represent the Senegal national team on 1 October 2020. ^[8] He first played for Senegal in a friendly 3–1 loss to Morocco on 9 October 2020 ^[9] and scored his first goal in a 3–1 win over Congo on 7 September 2021. ^[10]

He was part of Senegal's squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations; the Lions of Teranga went on to win the tournament for the first time in their history. ^{[11] [12]} Dia was appointed a Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion by President of Senegal Macky Sall following the nation's victory at the tournament. ^[13]

Dia started all four of Senegal's matches at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, scoring the opening goal of a 3–1 win over hosts Qatar, as the nation reached the round of 16 for the first time since its debut in 2002. ^{[14] [15]}

In December 2023, he was named in Senegal's squad for the postponed 2023 Africa Cup of Nations held in the Ivory Coast. ^[16] However, an injury forced him to forfeit and he was replaced in the Senegalese group by Bamba Dieng. ^{[17] [18]}

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 12 December 2024 ^[19]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup [b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Jura Sud	2017–18	Championnat National 2	21	15	—		—		—		—		21	15
Reims II	2018–19	Championnat National 2	6	2	—		—		—		—		6	2
	2019–20	Championnat National 2	0	0	—		—		—		—		0	0
	Total		6	2	—		—		—		—		6	2
Reims	2018–19	Ligue 1	18	3	2	1	1	0	—		—		21	4
	2019–20	Ligue 1	24	7	1	1	3	0	—		—		28	8
	2020–21	Ligue 1	36	14	1	2	—		2 [c]	0	—		39	16
	Total		78	24	4	4	4	0	2	0	—		88	28
Villarreal	2021–22	La Liga	25	5	1	1	—		8 [d]	1	1 [e]	0	35	7
Salernitana (loan)	2022–23	Serie A	33	16	0	0	—		—		—		33	16
Salernitana	2023–24	Serie A	17	4	1	0	—		—		—		18	4
	2024–25	Serie B	0	0	1	2	—		—		—		1	2
	Total		50	20	2	2	—		—		—		52	22
Lazio (loan)	2024–25	Serie A	13	4	0	0	—		6 [c]	2	—		19	6
Career total			193	70	7	7	4	0	16	3	1	0	221	80

1. Includes Coupe de France, Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia
2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
5. Appearance in UEFA Super Cup

International

As of match played 15 October 2024 ^[20]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Senegal	2020	3	0
	2021	6	1
	2022	14	3
	2023	3	2
	2024	4	1
Total		30	7

Scores and results list Senegal's goal tally first. Score column indicates score after each Dia goal. ^[20]

List of international goals scored by Boulaye Dia

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	7 September 2021	Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo	Congo	1–0	3–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.	29 March 2022	Diamniadio Olympic Stadium, Diamniadio, Senegal	Egypt	1–0	1–0 ( a.e.t. )	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.	24 September 2022	Stade de la Source, Orléans, France	Bolivia	1–0	2–0	Friendly
4.	25 November 2022	Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Qatar	1–0	3–1	2022 FIFA World Cup
5.	24 March 2023	Diamniadio Olympic Stadium, Diamniadio, Senegal	Mozambique	4–0	5–1	2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
6.	28 March 2023	Estádio do Zimpeto, Maputo, Mozambique	Mozambique	1–0	1–0	2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
7.	11 October 2024	Diamniadio Olympic Stadium, Diamniadio, Senegal	Malawi	3–0	4–0	2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Senegal

• Africa Cup of Nations: 2021 ^[21]

Individual

• Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion: 2022 ^[13]
• Serie A Player of the Month: May 2023 ^[22]

References

1. "Acta del Partido celebrado el 21 de agosto de 2021, en Barcelona" [Minutes of the Match held on 21 August 2021, in Barcelona] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 4 October 2021.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
2. "Boulaye Dia, renfort offensif du groupe Pro 2 - Stade de Reims". 16 July 2018.
3. "Stade de Reims - Angers SCO (1-1) - Saison 2018/2019 - Ligue 1 Conforama". lfp.fr. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
4. "Reims stun Montpellier, Briand scores 100th goal". Ligue 1. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
5. "Chelsea win Super Cup on penalties". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
6. "Boulaye Dia è un giocatore della Salernitana" [Boulaye Dia is a Salernitana player] (in Italian). US Salernitana 1919. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
7. "Boulaye Dia è un nuovo calciatore biancoceleste" [Boulaye Dia is a new biancoceleste footballer] (in Italian). Lazio. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
8. Lantheaume, Romain (1 October 2020). "Sénégal : 1ère pour Boulaye Dia, Mbaye Niang zappé !".
9. "Morocco vs. Senegal – 9 October 2020". Soccerway.
10. "Coupe du monde 2022: le Sénégal se défait difficilement du Congo". Radio France Internationale (in French). 7 September 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
11. "Cisse unveils Senegal squad, hopes for elusive TotalEnergies AFCON title". Confederation of African Football. 25 December 2021. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
12. "Senegal 0–0 Egypt". BBC Sport . 7 February 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
13. "Cash prizes, real estate, and highest honours as Senegal celebrates Nations Cup heroes". Reuters . 8 February 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
14. "Senegal Squad". ESPN UK. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
15. Molski, Max (25 November 2022). "Senegal's Boulaye Dia Opens Scoring With Goal Vs. Qatar". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
16. "Afcon 2023: Senegal and Sadio Mane set for defence of title". BBC Sport Africa. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
17. H.P. et F.L.D. (8 January 2024). "CAN : Bamba Dieng (Lorient) pour remplacer Boulaye Dia avec le Sénégal ?". L'Équipe .
18. "Le Sénégal appelle Bamba Dieng et Alfred Gomis (Lorient) pour disputer la CAN". L'Équipe . 9 January 2024.
19. Boulaye Dia at Soccerway
20. "Boulaye Dia". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
21. "Africa Cup Of Nations: Senegal Beat Egypt To Win Final (AFCON)". Sports Illustrated. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
22. "Boulaye Dia EA Sports Player Of The Month for May". Serie A. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.

External links

• Boulaye Dia at the US Salernitana 1919 website
• Boulaye Dia at Soccerway
• Boulaye Dia – French league stats at Ligue 1 – also available in French
• Boulaye Dia at National-Football-Teams.com
• Boulaye Dia – UEFA competition record ( archive )