Jean Michaël Seri

Jean Michaël Seri (born 19 July 1991) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Ligue 1 club Bordeaux, on loan from Fulham. He also plays for the Ivory Coast national team.

Jean Michaël Seri
Seri training with Nice in February 2018
Personal information
Full name Jean Michaël Seri[1]
Date of birth (1991-07-19) 19 July 1991
Place of birth Grand-Béréby, Ivory Coast
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[2]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Bordeaux
(on loan from Fulham)
Number 15
Youth career
2007–2010 Africa Sports d'Abidjan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2013 ASEC Mimosas 16 (1)
2012–2013 → Porto B (loan) 19 (1)
2013–2015 Paços de Ferreira 54 (2)
2015–2018 Nice 103 (12)
2018– Fulham 32 (1)
2019–2020 → Galatasaray (loan) 27 (2)
2021– → Bordeaux (loan) 0 (0)
National team‡
2011 Ivory Coast U-23 3 (0)
2015– Ivory Coast 30 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:16, 30 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 09:53, 18 July 2019 (UTC)

Club career

Early career in the Ivory Coast

In his native Ivory Coast, the young Seri was nicknamed "Galla", because he tried to emulate the former Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marcelo Gallardo, whose technical skills he admired. Seri joined the Ivorian football academy that was opened in 2001 by the Ivorian footballer Cyril Domoraud. "Jean is gifted, intelligent and respectful," Domoraud said in retrospect. "In his young days, he was one step ahead of the others, thanks to his ball control."[3]

Born in the south-western city of Grand-Béréby, Seri began his career as a youth player with Abidjan club Africa Sports d'Abidjan in July 2007.[4] The best clubs in Ivory Coast fought for his services. In January 2010, Seri started his career as a senior player by joining ASEC Mimosas, the most successful club in Ivorian football, where he needed just one season to prove himself and become one of the best players in the country. "He is a great listener, and his state of mind is impeccable," raved Sébastien Desabre, ASEC Mimosas's head coach from October 2010 to October 2012 when Seri was a senior player there, and that quality enabled Seri to make steady progress.[3]

Porto

On 2 November 2012, Seri joined Primeira Liga club Porto on loan, after impressing their scouts. However, there was no place for Seri in the club's first team. He was thus forced to play for the club's reserve team, scoring once in 19 Segunda Liga matches in the first five months of 2013.[3][5][6]

Paços de Ferreira

On 31 August 2013, two months after finishing his loan spell at Porto (the Dragões), Seri joined another Primeira Liga club Paços de Ferreira on a permanent basis and on a free transfer by signing a three-year deal.[7] He debuted for the Pacenses on 14 September 2013 against Benfica in a Primeira Liga 3–1 away loss.[8] On 2 March 2014, he scored a goal in the 54th minute to register his first competitive goal for Paços de Ferreira in a 3–1 Primeira Liga home win over Marítimo to send his side away from the relegation zone.[9] It was at Paços de Ferreira where Seri's magnificent range of passing and ability to dictate the tempo of the game made him a fans' favourite. The club finished in eighth place in the 2014–15 Primeira Liga, and Ligue 1 club Nice were quick to sign Seri before bigger clubs took notice.[3]

Nice
Seri playing for Nice against FC Lokomotiv Moscow in 2018

On 11 June 2015, Seri officially joined Ligue 1 club Nice for a transfer fee of €1 million.[3][10][11] On 27 May 2015, prior to the opening of the transfer window, the club had announced the "very likely" arrival of Seri.[12][13] On 8 August 2015, Seri made his competitive debut for Nice in their opening match of the 2015–16 Ligue 1 season, playing the entire match in the 2–1 home loss to Monaco. On 27 September 2015, he scored in the 53rd minute to register his first competitive goal for Nice in a 4–1 Ligue 1 away win over Saint-Étienne.[6]

Fulham

In July 2018, Seri joined Fulham on a four-year deal until 2022 with an option for Fulham to extend the contract by a further year.[14]

Seri scored his first goal for his new club on 26 August, opening the scoring against Burnley with a spectacular strike from outside the area. Seri picked the ball up and took one touch around an oncoming defender before curling in a long-range effort into the top corner of Joe Hart's net and the goal was awarded with the Premier League Goal of the Month for August.[15]

Loan to Galatasaray

On 18 July 2019, Seri joined Galatasaray on a season-long loan deal, with an option to buy.[16] Eventually, he would leave Galatasaray and return to Fulham at the end of the season.

Loan to Bordeaux

On 30 January 2021, Seri joined Ligue 1 side Bordeaux on loan until the end of the 2020-21 season.[17]

International career

Seri made a total of three appearances for the Ivory Coast U-23 team, all of them at the 2011 CAF U-23 Championship held in Morocco, playing every minute of all their three Group B matches against South Africa, Egypt and Gabon. Ivory Coast finished third in Group B and thus did not qualify for the semifinals.

On 27 February 2014, Seri received his first senior international call up for the Ivory Coast in an upcoming friendly match against Belgium;[18] he was an unused substitute in The Elephants' 2–2 away draw (held on 5 March 2014) against Belgium.[19] On 6 September 2015, Seri made his senior international debut in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against Sierra Leone, playing the entire match in the 0–0 away draw. Seri played two of Ivory Coast's three 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Group C matches. They finished third in Group C and thus did not qualify for the quarterfinals. On 17 November 2015, Seri scored a goal in the 64th minute of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification second round second leg 3–0 home win over Liberia to register his first senior international goal.

Personal life

Seri is a devout Christian.[20][21]

Career statistics

Club
As of 1 October 2020[6]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup1 League Cup2 Europe3 Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Paços de Ferreira 2013–14 Primeira Liga 211202060241332
2014–15 Primeira Liga 3312000——351
Total 54240206021683
Nice 2015–16 Ligue 1 383102000—413
2016–17 Ligue 1 347001040—397
2017–18 Ligue 1 312201090—432
Total 103123040130—12312
Fulham 2018–19 Premier League 3211010——341
2020–21 Premier League 000020——20
Total 3211030——361
Galatasaray (loan) 2019–20 Süper Lig 27230—60150372
Career total 21617110902503125818

International
As of 18 July 2019[22]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National TeamYearAppsGoals
Ivory Coast 201541
201650
201780
201861
201971
Total303
Scores and results list Ivory Coast's goal tally first.[22]
List of international goals scored by Jean Michaël Seri
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
117 November 2015Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast Liberia3–03–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
218 November 2018Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea Guinea1–11–12019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
319 June 2019Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Zambia2–14–1Friendly

Honours

Galatasaray

Individual

References
  1. "2018/19 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  2. "Player Profile". OGC Nice. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  3. "Arsenal target Jean Seri destined for big move after Nice displays". ESPN FC. 5 August 2017.
  4. "Jean-Michaël Seri at FootballDatabase.eu". FootballDatabase.eu.
  5. "Dragões garantem Jean-Michael Seri" [Dragons guarantee Jean-Michael Seri]. Record. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  6. "Jean Seri at Soccerway". Soccerway.
  7. "FC Porto: Jean Michel Seri assina pelo P. Ferreira" [FC Porto: Jean Michel Seri signs for P. Ferreira]. MaisFutebol. 31 August 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  8. "Benfica 3–1 P. Ferreira". ZeroZero. 14 September 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  9. "P. Ferreira 3–1 Marítimo". ZeroZero. 2 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  10. "Seri à Nice, c'est officiel" [Seri to Nice, it's official]. L'Equipe (in French). 11 June 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  11. "Jean-Michaël Seri : L'Ivoirien signe à Nice" [Jean-Michaël Seri: The Ivorian signs to Nice]. Africa Top Sports (in French). 11 June 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  12. "P. Ferreira: Nice confirma contratação de Seri" [P. Ferreira: Nice confirms Seri signing]. MaisFutebol (in Portuguese). 27 May 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  13. "Jean-Michael Seri arrive aussi" [Jean-Michael Seri also arrives] (in French). OGC Nice. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  14. "Jean Michael Seri: Fulham sign Ivory Coast international from Nice". BBC Sport. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  15. "Seri strike wins Carling Goal of the Month for August 2018". Premier League. 7 September 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  16. "Loan deal for Seri". BBC. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  17. "Seri joins Bordeaux". Fulham FC. 30 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  18. "Séri convocado para a seleção costa-marfinense" [Séri selected for the Ivorians]. Record. 27 February 2014. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  19. "Belgium draws with Ivory Coast 2–2 in WCup warm-up". KansasCitySports. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  20. Field, Dominic (6 October 2018). "Jean Michaël Seri: 'You have to take risks or you are just a water carrier'". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  21. Baines, Ollie (5 September 2018). "Fulham star reveals why he snubbed Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool to join The Cottagers". X The Line. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  22. "Seri, Jean Michaël". National Football Teams. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  23. "TFF Süper Kupa 2019 Galatasaray'ın" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  24. "Trophées UNFP : le palmarès complet de l'édition 2017". Le Figaro (in French). 15 May 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  25. "Mbappe, Cavani & Bernardo Silva lead Ligue 1 Team of the Season". Goal.com. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  26. "PRIX MARC-VIVIEN FOE: PAST WINNERS OF THE LIGUE 1 PRIZE lead Ligue 1 Team of the Season". Goal.com. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  27. "Seri and Cyprien are your MVP of the season". OGC Nice. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  28. "Seri strike wins Carling Goal of the Month". Premier League. 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
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