Ismaël Doukouré

Ismaël Landry Doukouré (born 24 July 2003) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or a defensive midfielder for Ligue 1 club Strasbourg.

Career Doukouré began playing soccer at the club level for Lille Wazemmes at the age of six. In 2009, he followed his older brother, who also played soccer at the time, to Iris Club Lambersart, and then to LOSC Lille in 2012. According to Doukouré, discovering soccer changed his personality; in an exclusive interview with Onze Mondial, he described himself as a “wild child” who used to get into mischief before soccer alleviated his stress and transformed him into a “calmer” person.

In 2017, Doukouré signed his youth contract with Valenciennes, with whom he would eventually sign his first professional contract on 2 July 2020 for a three-year deal. He made his professional debut in a 0-0 Ligue 2 draw with Sochaux on 17 October 2020.

On 29 January 2022, Doukouré signed with Strasbourg under a four-and-a-half year contract for a fee of 1.5 million euros. In summer 2023, Doukouré expressed his desire to leave Strasbourg in an interview with L'équipe in order to "progress more in another league." However, Strasbourg, which was acquired by investing consortium BlueCo on 22 June 2023 under a strategy focused on youth talent and development, convinced Doukouré to remain with the club without extending his contract for the 2023-2024 season. In 2024, Doukouré attempted to transfer out of Strasbourg again amid interest from Wolfsburg, but his request was blocked by club management. He later extended his contract for another two years on 20 August 2025, tying himself to the club until June 2028. The renewal of his contract maps out a clear pathway for Doukouré to transfer to BlueCo sister club Chelsea F.C. in 2026 to fill out the Premier League team's defense.

In late April 2026, Doukouré began the process of changing his sporting nationality from France to the Ivory Coast.

Personal life Born in Lille, France, Doukouré is of Ivorian descent. His father worked at Carrefour, and his mother cleaned houses for a living.

Career statistics