Bienvenue Ange Ahoussou!

This year's transfer window in Austria is still open until next Thursday, and as of Tuesday, SK Rapid can announce an exciting new addition to the squad. Ange Ahoussou, who turned 21 in December, is an Ivorian U-23 international who is joining SK Rapid on a permanent basis from French second division club Pau FC. The 6’4” central defender has agreed a contract with the club until the 2028/29 season.

Ahoussou trained at RC Abidjan in his home country and was brought to France by partner club OGC Nice in January 2022. He made 14 appearances for the second team before spending the 2022/23 season on loan at LB Châteauroux, where he played 24 competitive matches (20 in the Championnat National third division, scoring two goals, and four more in the French Cup, where he was only beaten by Paris Saint Germain). The tall left-footer from the Ivory Coast has played for Pau FC since the summer of 2023 and has since made 49 competitive appearances, scoring three goals in the process. In the current season, Ange Ahoussou played 19 full games in the first 20 rounds of Ligue 2.

Managing Director of Sport Markus Katzer said of the latest addition: “Ange Ahoussou is a player we have been watching closely for some time. Following the departure of our experienced player Maximilian Hofmann to Hungary, we have once again been actively on the search for a central defender. In line with our forward-thinking squad planning, I am delighted that we have already been able to welcome Ange Ahoussou to our ranks. He is a player who not only reminds us of our current regular Serge-Philippe Raux-Yao in terms of his size, but both have similar qualities; Ahoussou also masters the line-breaking passes into the attack very well and he was also the player with the most headers in the French second division last season. He is also an offensive threat at set-pieces, and I am just as pleased as our coach Robert Klauß that Ange has decided to sign with us despite the interest of several other parties.”

The future Rapid player has been in Vienna since Friday and was therefore not in the squad for his previous club's last match. He also completed the various medical tests in Austria and will immediately start training with the Green & White senior team. It remains to be seen when he will make his competitive debut, as he is a non-EU citizen and still has to wait for his work permit.

The neo-Rapidler, who will wear shirt number 20, said in an initial statement: “I'm happy that the switch has worked out and I'm already very excited about my new role. I'm looking forward to meeting my new team-mates and the Rapid fans and will do my best from the start to play my part in successful matches.”