El Bilal Touré: Who is VfB Stuttgart's latest attacking star?
El Bilal Touré certainly made waves in the UEFA Champions League when he grabbed the winning goal away to Juventus. Largely featuring off the bench but still managing to put his stamp on games, the young forward is in the perfect environment to develop at VfB Stuttgart while on loan from Atalanta.
Find out more about one of African football's most exciting prospects in Europe...
Stats correct as of 26/10/2024
Age: 23 (born 3 October 2001)
Club: VfB Stuttgart
Position: Striker
Country: Mali (21 caps/eight goals)
Key stats
Touré was born in Adjamé in the Ivory Coast to Malian parents. There his football journey began, joining Ivoire Académie FC before making the switch to Bamako’s Afrique Football Élite aged 15 to continue his development. It was here that he garnered attention and earned a move to Reims in France. He progressed through the youth setup, signing his first professional contract with the French side in January 2020. His senior debut followed shortly after in February, in which he scored the first goal in a 4-1 Ligue 1 win over Angers. Throughout his time in France, he amassed nine goals and five assists in 69 appearances, memorably scoring once and providing an assist in a 2-2 clash with Monaco.
Touré would stay with Reims until the summer of 2022, when he made the move to Spain to join Almeria. In just one season there, he returned a respectable seven goals and two assists from 21 league appearances. Spain was where his reputation for performing in big games grew. He contributed his side’s only goal in a 1-1 draw with Atlético Madrid, but his standout performance during his tenure in Spain came in February 2023 in a 1-0 victory over Barcelona. Touré struck the only goal of the game to ensure Almeria’s first ever win over the Catalan giants.
However, it wasn’t just his goals that helped him gain traction. Touré stands at 1.85m tall and has explosive speed to boot. His top speed in the Bundesliga so far is 20.98 mph (33.77 km/h). He’s versatile too, comfortably being deployed all across the front line over the course of the season, although he is most at home through the middle or off the left.
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These performances earned the starlet a high-profile switch to Italian side Atalanta in the summer of 2023, being handed the number 10 shirt. A thigh injury sustained early into his Atalanta career, and high performing competition for places meant that Touré was largely resigned to primarily serving as a substitute. In Italy, he made just 17 appearances, returning three goals and an assist. He did provide a goal in a 3-0 win over Marseille in the UEFA Europa League semi-final, taking Atalanta all the way to the final where he also featured against Bayer Leverkusen, in what was the Werkself’s only defeat last season.
He'd get more chances to play Leverkusen after agreeing a season-long loan to Stuttgart in August 2024. Since joining the Swabians, he has still largely featured as a substitute, but his repertoire of big games in which he has scored has been added to in some style. He’s netted three times so far this season, once in a 5-1 home thrashing of Borussia Dortmund, before downing Juventus with the only goal of the game in a momentus Champions League win. He wasn't done their either. Next time out against Hostein Kiel he'd set up Deniz Undav with a no-look pass for the opener before scoring a crucial second to claim three points.
Did you know?
Touré holds dual citizenship for the Ivory Coast and Mali, choosing to represent the latter internationally. He made his debut at just 19 years old and in fact scored in a 3-0 friendly win over Ghana. He’s since gone on to score eight goals in 21 appearances.
Plays a bit like: Darwin Núñez
Both are strong, powerful players with explosive pace and are not shy of a goal in a big game. With them still young too, there's still a feeling that their best is yet to come, and there's an uncertainty as to where they're best deployed. But one thing is certain, if Touré can live up to his potential, he'll be a nightmare for defenders.
What they're saying
"El Bilal Touré is another strong addition to our attack. He has demonstrated his qualities in France, Spain and most recently in Italy with Atalanta. He’s the type of player we haven’t had before, and his exceptional speed will add another important facet to our attack." - Stuttgart board member for sport Fabian Wohlgemuth
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