Lassana Coulibaly spent last season on loan with Rangers.
The 23-year-old midfielder made a very positive start to life at Ibrox, before his performance levels dipped and eventually, he saw himself frozen out of the first team.
Just as was the case with the other loan players, Joe Worrall and Ryan Kent, there was no official recognition of Coulibaly’s departure by the club.
Yet, he returned to his parent club, Angers, last month.
Any Ligue 1 pre-season preparations are currently on hold, though. That’s because he’s in Egypt competing for Mali in the African Cup of Nations.
Mali will have been disappointed with the results from their warm-up fixtures. They entered the tournament winless from their last three matches after defeats to Algeria and Senegal and a draw with Cameroon.
However, they got off to an excellent start in the competition proper on Monday. Coulibaly played 90 minutes in the centre of midfield for the Eagles as they recorded a thumping 4-1 victory over Mauritania.
MORE RANGERS STORIES
Goals from Abdoulay Diaby, Moussa Marenga and a double from Monaco midfielder Adama Traore, sealed the three points.
Next up for Coulibaly and Mali is a more challenging tie against Tunisia on Friday afternoon.
The powerful midfielder may no longer be a Ger, but it’s good to see him doing well and getting opportunities at international level after a difficult final few months at Ibrox.
