Alagie Sanyang

Alagie Sanyang
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-09-11) 11 September 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth The Gambia
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Sarpsborg 08
Number 7
Youth career
–2012 Teie
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2016 FK Tønsberg 75 (18)
2017–2018 Asker 45 (7)
2019 Moss 23 (11)
2020–2021 KFUM 58 (17)
2022–2024 Start 45 (13)
2024– Sarpsborg 08 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 December 2024

Alagie Sanyang (born 11 September 1996) is a Gambian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Sarpsborg 08.[1]

Personal life

Sanyang was born in The Gambia, but migrated to Europe with his family. Reaching Sweden, they moved on to finally settle in Norway. Sanyang later stated that he needed to get away from an environment marked by "party and drugs".[2] He is a Muslim.[3]

Sanyang played for Teie IF as a child, and trained with other talents in Vestfold, including Markus Brændsrød, André Sødlund and Lars Herlofsen.[4]

Career

After leaving Teie in 2013 for FK Tønsberg, Sanyang made his senior debut in the 2. divisjon in June 2013. He scored his first league goal in May 2014, albeit in the 3. divisjon after FK Tønsberg was relegated. He helped win promotion to the 2016 2. divisjon,[5] where he attracted the interest of others.[6] In 2017 he was signed by Asker, who replaced Sindre Mauritz-Hansen with Sanyang, Balal Arezou and Riki Alba.[7]

After one seaso in Moss FK, where he scored 12 goals in 25 goals (league and cup), he was signed by 1. divisjon team KFUM in 2020.[8][9] Following the postponed start to the 2020 season, Sanyang scored his first 1. divisjon goal in July 2020.[10] He proceeded to become KFUM's internal top goalscorer in 2021, and was rumoured to be on the radar for Eliteserien clubs.[11] The transfer took place, but the target was another second-tier club, IK Start.

Using 2022 to adjust, his goalscoring picked up in 2023 with 5 goals in the first 9 games.[12] Sanyang was also noted for a sometime-haphazard playing style, with several tackles being described as horrendous. One happened against Alexander Håpnes in the league, which knocked Håpnes unconscious,[13][14] another situation came in a cup game in March 2023, when Sanyang was sent off for kicking a player who was lying down.[15]

However, as a team Start stagnated, so in 2024 Sanyang expressed his wish to move on to another club.[16][17] He was reportedly wanted by Kristiansund BK.[18] With his age nearing 28, he finally got the chance in Eliteserien when Sarpsborg 08 bought him out of his contract in the summer window of 2024.[19] At the time of his transfer, he was injured until September.[20]

References

  1. ^ Alagie Sanyang at Soccerway
  2. ^ "Starts toppscorer brøt med venner i fest- og dopmiljø". KRS – Avisen Kristiansand (in Norwegian). 9 August 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  3. ^ Olsen, Egil (28 April 2022). "- Ramadan er viktig for meg som troende muslim" (in Norwegian). IK Start. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  4. ^ Hem, Tom-Erling (23 July 2010). "Talenter drilles av engelske topptrenere". Sandefjords Blad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  5. ^ Alagie Sanyang at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
  6. ^ Lysne, Arne (16 November 2016). "Stor interesse for Alagie". Tønsbergs Blad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Asker henter ny offensiv spiller" (in Norwegian). Fotballkanalen. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  8. ^ Lysne, Arne (25 January 2020). "– Jeg hadde godt av å flytte på meg. Jeg ble mer voksen da". Tønsbergs Blad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Ny spiss til KFUM. Var toppscorer i Moss". Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). 21 January 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  10. ^ Lysne, Arne (14 July 2020). "Sjekk hvordan Alagie (23) presenterte seg i toppfotballen". Tønsbergs Blad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  11. ^ Syrstad, Sven-Erik (29 November 2021). "Brennhete Alagie (25) klar for opprykksdrama". Tønsbergs Blad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  12. ^ Nilsen, Rasmus (23 June 2023). "Start-spiss Sanyang med overraskende melding: – Tenker ikke så mye på mål". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  13. ^ Langeveld, Martin (24 September 2023). "Totalslaktes etter rystende bilder: – Idiotisk" (in Norwegian). TV 2. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  14. ^ Kjøniksen, Helge (25 September 2023). "Alexander Håpnes: – Glad det ikke gikk verre". Moss Avis (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  15. ^ Opphus, Joakim (13 March 2023). "Start dropper protest – ber om nye arenaer for dommerdialog" (in Norwegian). Eurosport. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Sanyang vil dra: – Jeg føler tiden er inne". Fædrelandsvennen (in Norwegian). 3 April 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  17. ^ "Sanyang beklaget overfor lagkameratene: – Vi står bak ham". Fædrelandsvennen (in Norwegian). 6 April 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  18. ^ Edøy, Rune (7 February 2024). "Spiss på blokka til KBK". Tidens Krav (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  19. ^ Rosted, Ole-Morten (26 July 2024). "Drømmen har gått i oppfyllelse for Alagie". Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  20. ^ Duan, Mats (11 September 2024). "Sanyang klar for nye utfordringer: - Jeg gleder meg til å bidra". Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 October 2024.