Boulaye Dia

Boulaye Dia
Dia with Reims in 2019
Personal information
Full name Boulaye Dia[1]
Date of birth (1996-11-16) 16 November 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Oyonnax, France
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Lazio
(on loan from Salernitana)
Number 19
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Jura Sud 21 (15)
2018 Reims II 6 (2)
2018–2021 Reims 78 (24)
2021–2023 Villarreal 25 (5)
2022–2023 → Salernitana (loan) 33 (16)
2023– Salernitana 17 (4)
2024– → Lazio (loan) 15 (4)
International career‡
2020– Senegal 30 (7)
Medal record
Representing  Senegal
Africa Cup of Nations
Winner 2021 Cameroon
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:02, 28 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:51, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Boulaye Dia (born 16 November 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Lazio, on loan from Salernitana. Born in France, he plays for the Senegal national team.

Club career

Reims

Dia signed a professional contract with Reims on 16 July 2018 after a successful debut season with Jara Sud, where he scored 15 goals in 21 games.[2] He made his professional debut with Reims in a 1–1 Ligue 1 tie with Angers on 20 October 2018.[3]

On 25 October 2020, Dia scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 win against Montpellier, thereby becoming the first Reims player to score one in the top flight since Santiago Santamaría in 1978. The win was the club's first in the league in the 2020–21 season.[4]

Villarreal

On 13 July 2021, Villarreal announced the signing of Dia on a five-year deal from Reims. On his first official debut for Villarreal, which was against Chelsea in the 2021 UEFA Super Cup, he received lots of praise for his fine display.[5]

Loan move to Salernitana

On 18 August 2022, Dia went to Serie A club Salernitana on loan for one year, with a buyout clause.[6]

Lazio

On 16 August 2024, Dia joined Lazio on a two-season loan, with a conditional obligation to buy.[7]

International career

Born in France, Dia holds French and Senegalese nationalities. He was called up to represent the Senegal national team on 1 October 2020.[8] He first played for Senegal in a friendly 3–1 loss to Morocco on 9 October 2020[9] and scored his first goal in a 3–1 win over Congo on 7 September 2021.[10]

He was part of Senegal's squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations; the Lions of Teranga went on to win the tournament for the first time in their history.[11][12] Dia was appointed a Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion by President of Senegal Macky Sall following the nation's victory at the tournament.[13]

Dia started all four of Senegal's matches at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, scoring the opening goal of a 3–1 win over hosts Qatar, as the nation reached the round of 16 for the first time since its debut in 2002.[14][15]

In December 2023, he was named in Senegal's squad for the postponed 2023 Africa Cup of Nations held in the Ivory Coast.[16] However, an injury forced him to forfeit and he was replaced in the Senegalese group by Bamba Dieng.[17][18]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 28 December 2024[19]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Jura Sud 2017–18 Championnat National 2 21 15 — — — — 21 15
Reims II 2018–19 Championnat National 2 6 2 — — — — 6 2
2019–20 Championnat National 2 0 0 — — — — 0 0
Total 6 2 — — — — 6 2
Reims 2018–19 Ligue 1 18 3 2 1 1 0 — — 21 4
2019–20 Ligue 1 24 7 1 1 3 0 — — 28 8
2020–21 Ligue 1 36 14 1 2 — 2[c] 0 — 39 16
Total 78 24 4 4 4 0 2 0 — 88 28
Villarreal 2021–22 La Liga 25 5 1 1 — 8[d] 1 1[e] 0 35 7
Salernitana (loan) 2022–23 Serie A 33 16 0 0 — — — 33 16
Salernitana 2023–24 Serie A 17 4 1 0 — — — 18 4
2024–25 Serie B 0 0 1 2 — — — 1 2
Total 50 20 2 2 — — — 52 22
Lazio (loan) 2024–25 Serie A 15 4 0 0 — 6[c] 2 — 21 6
Career total 195 70 7 7 4 0 16 3 1 0 223 80
  1. ^ Includes Coupe de France, Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia
  2. ^ Includes Coupe de la Ligue
  3. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ Appearance in UEFA Super Cup

International

As of match played 15 October 2024[20]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Senegal 2020 3 0
2021 6 1
2022 14 3
2023 3 2
2024 4 1
Total 30 7
Scores and results list Senegal's goal tally first. Score column indicates score after each Dia goal.[20]
List of international goals scored by Boulaye Dia
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 7 September 2021 Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo  Congo 1–0 3–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2. 29 March 2022 Diamniadio Olympic Stadium, Diamniadio, Senegal  Egypt 1–0 1–0 (a.e.t.) 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
3. 24 September 2022 Stade de la Source, Orléans, France  Bolivia 1–0 2–0 Friendly
4. 25 November 2022 Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar  Qatar 1–0 3–1 2022 FIFA World Cup
5. 24 March 2023 Diamniadio Olympic Stadium, Diamniadio, Senegal  Mozambique 4–0 5–1 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
6. 28 March 2023 Estádio do Zimpeto, Maputo, Mozambique  Mozambique 1–0 1–0 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
7. 11 October 2024 Diamniadio Olympic Stadium, Diamniadio, Senegal  Malawi 3–0 4–0 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Senegal

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Acta del Partido celebrado el 21 de agosto de 2021, en Barcelona" [Minutes of the Match held on 21 August 2021, in Barcelona] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 4 October 2021.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ "Boulaye Dia, renfort offensif du groupe Pro 2 - Stade de Reims". 16 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Stade de Reims - Angers SCO (1-1) - Saison 2018/2019 - Ligue 1 Conforama". lfp.fr. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Reims stun Montpellier, Briand scores 100th goal". Ligue 1. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Chelsea win Super Cup on penalties". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Boulaye Dia è un giocatore della Salernitana" [Boulaye Dia is a Salernitana player] (in Italian). US Salernitana 1919. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Boulaye Dia è un nuovo calciatore biancoceleste" [Boulaye Dia is a new biancoceleste footballer] (in Italian). Lazio. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  8. ^ Lantheaume, Romain (1 October 2020). "Sénégal : 1ère pour Boulaye Dia, Mbaye Niang zappé !".
  9. ^ "Morocco vs. Senegal – 9 October 2020". Soccerway.
  10. ^ "Coupe du monde 2022: le Sénégal se défait difficilement du Congo". Radio France Internationale (in French). 7 September 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Cisse unveils Senegal squad, hopes for elusive TotalEnergies AFCON title". Confederation of African Football. 25 December 2021. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Senegal 0–0 Egypt". BBC Sport. 7 February 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Cash prizes, real estate, and highest honours as Senegal celebrates Nations Cup heroes". Reuters. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Senegal Squad". ESPN UK. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  15. ^ Molski, Max (25 November 2022). "Senegal's Boulaye Dia Opens Scoring With Goal Vs. Qatar". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Afcon 2023: Senegal and Sadio Mane set for defence of title". BBC Sport Africa. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  17. ^ H.P. et F.L.D. (8 January 2024). "CAN : Bamba Dieng (Lorient) pour remplacer Boulaye Dia avec le Sénégal ?". L'Équipe.
  18. ^ "Le Sénégal appelle Bamba Dieng et Alfred Gomis (Lorient) pour disputer la CAN". L'Équipe. 9 January 2024.
  19. ^ Boulaye Dia at Soccerway
  20. ^ a b "Boulaye Dia". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  21. ^ "Africa Cup Of Nations: Senegal Beat Egypt To Win Final (AFCON)". Sports Illustrated. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Boulaye Dia EA Sports Player Of The Month for May". Serie A. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
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