Mohamed Sylla (footballer, born 1993)

For other people named Mohamed Sylla, see Mohamed Sylla (disambiguation).

Mohamed Sylla

Sylla in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth	(1993-12-01) 1 December 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Paris, France
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) [1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Dundee
Number	28
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2019	L'Entente SSG	110	(6)
2019–2020	Oldham Athletic	45	(1)
2020–2021	Laval	20	(1)
2021–2022	Aldershot Town	30	(2)
2022–2023	Hartlepool United	35	(1)
2023–	Dundee	39	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:55, 7 December 2024 (UTC)

Mohamed Sylla (born 1 December 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Dundee.

Career

Born in Paris, Sylla began his career with L'Entente SSG, ^[1] where he made over 100 appearances before signing with English club Oldham Athletic in January 2019. ^{[2] [3]} He made his debut on 12 January 2019, in a League match against Forest Green Rovers. ^[4] He returned to France in June 2020 to sign for Laval. ^[5]

On 30 October 2021, Sylla joined National League side Aldershot Town, ^[6] and went onto score on his debut later that day, during a 2–1 away defeat to Barnet. ^[7] In the 2021–22 season, Sylla made 32 appearances in all competitions for Aldershot, scoring twice. Additionally, he also won the club's player of the year award. ^[8]

On 4 August 2022, Sylla signed a one-year deal at League Two club Hartlepool United. ^[9] On 1 January 2023, he scored his first goal for Hartlepool in a 3–3 draw with Harrogate Town. ^[10] He was dropped from the matchday squad for wins against Grimsby Town and Barrow with manager John Askey claiming that Sylla was not in the right frame of mind to play. ^[11] It was later reported by the Hartlepool Mail that it was believed Sylla refused to play in the game against Grimsby. ^[12] Following the win against Barrow which had left Hartlepool relegated, Askey said that several players had been dropped due to their attitude. ^{[11] [13]} Despite this, Sylla's contract option was exercised to keep him at the club for a further year, although he failed to return to pre-season training with club. ^[12]

On 25 August 2023, Sylla joined Scottish Premiership club Dundee on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. ^[14] He made his debut two days later off the bench in a league win over Heart of Midlothian. ^[15] On 28 September, Sylla collapsed during half-time of a league game against Aberdeen due to having an apparent anaphylactic shock and was taken to hospital where he became responsive and was released in the following days. ^[16] He made the starting line-up of the following game, but was sent off in the first half due to a controversial second yellow card. ^[17]

Personal life

Sylla and his partner became parents in November 2024, with their son being born in Paris. After being present for the birth, Sylla returned to Scotland the following day to play the entirety of a comeback victory for Dundee against Kilmarnock which manager Tony Docherty and the team dedicated to Sylla's newborn son. ^[18]

Career statistics

As of 7 December 2024 ^[1]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
L'Entente SSG	2013–14	CFA2 Group A	1	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
	2014–15	CFA2 Group A	20	0	0	0	—		—		20	0
	2015–16	CFA2 Group A	24	3	2	0	—		—		26	3
	2016–17	CFA2 Group B	23	1	0	0	—		—		23	1
	2017–18	Championnat National	28	1	2	0	—		—		30	1
	2018–19	Championnat National	14	1	1	0	—		—		15	1
	Total		110	6	5	0	—		—		115	6
Oldham Athletic	2018–19 [19]	League Two	15	0	1	0	—		—		16	0
	2019–20 [20]	League Two	30	1	1	0	1	0	3 [a]	0	35	1
	Total		45	1	2	0	1	0	3	0	51	1
Laval	2020–21	Championnat National	20	1	0	0	—		—		20	1
Aldershot Town	2021–22	National League	30	2	0	0	—		2 [b]	0	32	2
Hartlepool United	2022–23 [21]	League Two	35	1	4	0	1	0	2 [a]	0	42	1
Dundee	2023–24	Scottish Premiership	24	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	25	0
	2024–25	Scottish Premiership	15	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	21	0
	Total		39	0	1	0	6	0	0	0	46	0
Career total			278	11	12	0	8	0	7	0	305	11

1. Appearance(s) in the EFL Trophy
2. Appearance(s) in the FA Trophy

Honours

Individual

• Entente SSG Supporters' Player of the Year: 2017–18 ^[22]
• Aldershot Town Supporters' Player of the Year: 2021–22 ^[8]

References

1. Mohamed Sylla at Soccerway. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
2. "SIGNING: Latics Sign Sylla". Oldham Athletic A.F.C. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
3. "Mohamed Sylla: Oldham sign French midfielder on one-and-a-half year deal". BBC Sport. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
4. "Games played by Mohamed Sylla in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
5. "Iacovitti & Sylla Depart". www.oldhamathletic.co.uk.
6. "NEW SIGNING: Shots Sign Sylla!". Aldershot Town F.C. 30 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
7. "Barnet vs. Aldershot Town". Soccerway. 30 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
8. "2021/22 END OF SEASON AWARDS: THE WINNERS OF OUR 2021/22 AWARDS!". Aldershot Town FC. 15 May 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
9. "Pools sign Mo Sylla". Hartlepool United. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
10. "Hartlepool 3–3 Harrogate: George Thomson earns visitors share of spoils with fine equaliser". Sky Sports. 1 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
11. Joe Ramage (4 May 2023). "John Askey defends 'selfish' Hartlepool United comments and expands further on Mohamad Sylla situation". Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
12. Joe Ramage (11 July 2023). "Hartlepool United's sporting director Darren Kelly clarifies stance over wantaway midfielder". Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
13. Joe Ramage (29 April 2023). "John Askey's explosive comments on 'selfish' Hartlepool United players". Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
14. "Sylla joins The Dee". Dundee Football Club - Official Website. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
15. "McCowan dink downs Hearts to earn Dundee first win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
16. "Mo Sylla: Dundee midfielder exits hospital after 'anaphylactic shock'". BBC Sport. 28 September 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
17. Media, P. A. (5 October 2024). "Tony Docherty angry with referee over Mo Sylla's red card against Kilmarnock". STV News. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
18. "'We dedicate the win to Sylla's son' - Docherty". BBC Sport. 4 November 2024. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
19. "Games played by Mohamed Sylla in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
20. "Games played by Mohamed Sylla in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
21. "Games played by Mohamed Sylla in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
22. "#NATIONAL : MOHAMAD SYLLA JOUEUR DE L'ANNÉE !". Entente SSG. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2023.