On Wednesday evening, Lassana Coulibaly secured another loan move away from Angers.
The Mali international spent last season at Rangers and initially made a big impact in Scotland.
He was a regular starter under Steven Gerrard during Europa League qualifying and the early stages of the Scottish Premiership, where he impressed with his strength and industry in midfield.
However, after a brief injury absence and a rumoured unfortunate personal loss, Coulibaly’s performance levels understandably dropped just a few months into his stint.
Over the remainder of his stay in Glasgow, he became less and less involved in first-team activities. By the time the end of the season came around, he hadn’t featured at all for some time and, as with other loanees, ended up leaving without any official acknowledgement from the club.
Unfortunately for Coulibaly, it seems he isn’t required at his parent club, Angers, either. He’s contracted at Les Scoistes until the summer of 2021 [Transfermarkt], but they’ve decided to loan him out for the second consecutive season.
Reviving the fortunes of Cercle Brugge is his latest assignment. The Belgian Pro League side have lost their first four matches of the season, scoring just three times and conceding eleven.
They’re clearly missing something and perhaps the 23-year-old midfield enforcer is the answer.
Rangers fans wish Coulibaly well
Once the transfer was confirmed by Cercle’s Twitter, plenty of Bears left messages of support for Coulibaly. The common theme was, if he could replicate his early Rangers form, the Belgian strugglers will benefit greatly.
Here’s a selection of reactions:
https://twitter.com/LoneRanger1993/status/1164235678957408257
https://twitter.com/markyphilpott89/status/1164239879926091776
https://twitter.com/GarethNicholl88/status/1164245627955548160
https://twitter.com/bellic1879/status/1164283917056315392
https://twitter.com/JohnCox1999/status/1164306893201989632
