Youssouf Mulumbu

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Youssouf Mulumbu
Youssouf Mulumbu.jpg
Mulumbu playing for West Bromwich Albion in 2013
Personal information
Full name Youssouf Mulumbu [1]
Date of birth (1987-01-25) 25 January 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth Kinshasa, Zaire
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) [2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
2004–2006 Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2004–2009 Paris Saint-Germain B 50 (1)
2006–2009 Paris Saint-Germain 13 (0)
2007–2008Amiens (loan) 23 (1)
2009West Bromwich Albion (loan) 6 (0)
2009–2015 West Bromwich Albion 191 (15)
2015–2017 Norwich City 20 (0)
2017–2018 Kilmarnock 18 (1)
2018–2019 Celtic 1 (0)
2019Kilmarnock (loan) 7 (1)
2020–2021 Kilmarnock 18 (0)
2021–2022 Saint-Éloi Lupopo 37 (16)
2023–2024 Orléans 0 (0)
2023–2024 Orléans B 2 (0)
International career
2007 France U20 1 (0)
2007 France U21 2 (0)
2008–2019 DR Congo 45 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Youssouf Mulumbu (born 25 January 1987) is a Congolese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Championnat National club Orléans.

Contents

Mulumbu came through Paris Saint-Germain's youth academy. He began playing for Paris Saint-Germain B in 2004 and was promoted to the first-team in 2006. He was sent on two loan deals to Amiens and West Bromwich Albion, respectively, ultimately signing a permanent deal with the latter. He played there several years, winning the club's player of the year award for 2011. In 2015, he moved to newly-promoted Premier League club Norwich City, and he played for Scottish clubs Celtic and Kilmarnock between 2017 and 2021. Afterwards, he returned to Congo to play for Saint-Éloi Lupopo. In 2023 he signed for French team US Orleans.

Born in Kinshasa, Zaire, but growing up in France, Mulumbu represented France at various youth levels, before making his international debut in 2008 aged 21. He shortly withdrew from the national team citing a "lack of professionalism" in 2009. He returned in 2012, and helped the team finish in third place during the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

Early life

Mulumbu was born in Kinshasa, Zaire, to parents born in Léopoldville, Belgian Congo, in the late 1950s.

He moved to France in the late 1980s with his family, and grew up in the town of Épinay-sous-Sénart, a suburb of Paris. He acquired French nationality on 10 April 2001, through the collective effect of his parents' naturalization. [3]

Club career

Paris Saint-Germain

Mulumbu began playing for the Paris Saint-Germain Academy at age 13. [4] On 22 October 2006, he made his Ligue 1 debut under head coach Guy Lacombe, at 19 years and 10 months in a match against Auxerre. [5] He signed his first professional contract with Paris Saint-Germain on 13 November 2006. [6]

During the 2007–08 season, he was on loan at Amiens in Ligue 2, scoring once in 29 appearances. [7]

West Bromwich Albion

It was reported by the French media on 26 January 2009 that he joined Premier League team West Bromwich Albion on a trial basis. On 2 February 2009, the January transfer deadline day, he joined them on loan with a view to a permanent deal at the end of the season. Mulumbu's first term at The Hawthorns was interrupted by injuries and he had to wait until April to make his Premier League debut, coming on as a sub in a 2–2 draw at Portsmouth. He signed for West Brom permanently on a one-year contract for a fee of £175,000 on 10 July 2009. [8]

He was named West Brom's Player of the Year by both the club and the fans at the end of the season, and signed his third contract extension in 13 months on 25 July 2011, tying himself to the club until 2015 (with the option of an extra year). [9]

On 15 March 2014, Mulumbu scored a crucial winner for West Brom in a 2–1 victory against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium, giving Pepe Mel his first win as head coach. [10]

Norwich City

In June 2015, it was announced that Mulumbu would sign on a free-transfer for newly promoted Norwich City on 1 July 2015. [11]

On 3 August 2015, Norwich announced that Mulumbu suffered a broken metatarsal in a friendly against Brentford which would require surgery and sideline him for several weeks, ruling him out of the start of the season. [12] He would finally make his debut on 27 October in a League Cup game against Everton, which Norwich lost on penalties after a 1–1 draw. [13] He made his Premier League debut a few days later on 31 October in a 2–1 defeat to Manchester City. [14] However, with Jonny Howson, Alexander Tettey and Graham Dorrans preferred in the centre of midfield, Mulumbu would ultimately be confined to only five league starts and two appearances as a substitute in the 2015–16 season, plus one appearance in the FA Cup, and the season would end with Norwich relegated back to the Championship.

Mulumbu remained with Norwich for the 2016–17 season but again found his opportunities for first team action restricted. His last appearance for Norwich came on 11 February 2017 in a 5–1 win over Nottingham Forest. [15] On 2 May, it was announced that Mulumbu was one of seven players who would be released by Norwich when their contracts expired at the end of the season. [16]

Kilmarnock

On 22 November 2017, it was announced that Mulumbu had signed for Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock until the end of the 2017–18 season. [17] Mulumbu reunited with manager Steve Clarke, who had also managed him at West Bromwich. [17] He scored his first goal for Kilmarnock in a 1–0 win against Celtic on 3 February 2018. [18] On 13 July 2018, Clarke said that Mulumbu had left Kilmarnock and was not expected to return to the club. [19]

Celtic

On 31 August 2018, Mulumbu signed a two-year deal with Celtic. [20] Mulumbu was loaned back to Kilmarnock on 31 January 2019, until the end of the 201819 season, [21] and played 12 times in his second spell with the Ayrshire club. [22] In June 2019, Mulumbu left Celtic after the club activated a break clause in his contract. [22] Mulumbu had made three appearances for the Glasgow side. [22]

Return to Kilmarnock

After a year out of football, Mulumbu trained with Kilmarnock during August 2020. [23] On 28 August, he made his return to the club on a six-month deal. [24] On 11 January 2021, Mulumbu agreed a contract extension to remain at the club until the end of the 2020–21 season. [25] He left Kilmarnock in May 2021 to move to France. [26]

Saint-Éloi Lupopo

On 31 July 2021, Mulumbu signed a one-year contract with Saint-Éloi Lupopo, marking his return to Congo. [27] He left the club as his contract expired in August 2022, after finishing third in the national championship and putting in strong performances as a key player in the team. [28]

Orléans

On 21 September 2023, French Championnat National club Orléans signed Mulumbu to a one-year contract. [29] He suffered an injury during practice shortly after joining, delaying his debut. [30]

International career

Mulumbu was formerly a member of the France under-20 and under-21 teams. He earned his first cap for Congo DR national team against Algeria on 26 March 2008. In 2009, Mulumbu decided to boycott international football after he claimed his national team lacked professionalism. On 23 September 2011, he retired from international duties, quoting "numerous problems we were facing with some authorities within the DR Congo Football Federation". [31] However, in July 2012, he decided to revoke this decision, and made himself available for the Congo DR national team once again. [31]

Personal life

Mulumbu is a Muslim. [32]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition [33] [34] [35]
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] League cup [b] OtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Paris Saint-Germain B 2004–05 CFA 6161
2005–06CFA210210
2006–07CFA120120
2007–08 CFA0000
2008–09 CFA110110
Total501501
Paris Saint-Germain 2006–07 Ligue 1 120000000120
2007–08 Ligue 11000000010
2008–09 Ligue 10000002 [c] 020
Total130000020150
Amiens SC (loan) 2007–08 Ligue 2 2310000231
West Bromwich Albion 2008–09 Premier League 60000060
2009–10 Championship 4034020463
2010–11 Premier League3470000347
2011–12 Premier League3511000361
2012–13 Premier League2820020302
2013–14 Premier League3720010382
2014–15 Premier League1701030210
Total19715608021115
Norwich City 2015–16 Premier League70101090
2016–17 Championship13000101 [d] 0150
Total200102010240
Kilmarnock 2017–18 Scottish Premiership 1812000201
Celtic 2018–19 Scottish Premiership1000002 [e] 030
Kilmarnock (loan) 2018–19 Scottish Premiership1012000121
Kilmarnock 2020–21 Scottish Premiership1602020200
Saint-Éloi Lupopo 2021–22 Linafoot 37163716
Career total385351301205041535
  1. Includes Coupe de France, FA Cup, Scottish FA Cup
  2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue, Football League Cup, Scottish League Cup
  3. Appearances in UEFA Cup
  4. Appearance for Norwich City under-23s in EFL Trophy
  5. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year [34]
National teamYearAppsGoals
DR Congo 200890
200910
201020
201120
201221
201370
201450
201570
201610
201730
201810
201950
Total451
Scores and results list DR Congo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mulumbu goal.
List of international goals scored by Youssouf Mulumbu
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.
114 October 2012 Estadio de Malabo, Malabo, Equatorial GuineaFlag of Equatorial Guinea.svg  Equatorial Guinea 1–21–2 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification [36]

Honours

DR Congo

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