Mechelen is currently struggling to escape relegation in the Belgian First Division A after losing 2-0 to Kortrijk in their last match over the weekend. However, Mechelen’s highest goal scorer Boureima Hassane Bande is off to a great start in his football career.
Despite taking to the professional stage for the first time, Bande’s performance appears like a long time professional player.
Born in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on October 30, 1998, Bande made his professional debut on August 19, 2017, in a 2-1 loss to Royal Antwerp F.C. After watching his first two games from the bench, Bande introduced himself as a goal scorer when he scored his team’s lone goal in his debut match.
Eventually, an African force emerged in Belgium’s First Division A – the 19-year-old took the headlines after scoring 8 goals in his succeeding 11 games. Like fellow young African counterpart, Henry Onyekuru of Nigeria, Bande’s performances grasped the attention of several top European clubs including; Manchester United, PSV, FC Porto, Arsenal, and Anderlecht.
Bande will join Ajax next summer after the Amsterdam football club agreed terms with Mechelen to sign him on a five-year contract.
The 19-year-old Burkinabe who made his professional debut for Burkina Faso on November 14, 2017, is currently one of seven African players seated on the top goal scorers chat of the Belgian First Division A league with 8 goals.
Though he has struggled to register a goal in his last six appearances, the starting point of the 19-year-old’s professional career is not only setting the bar of inspiration for young African talents but is on the path of becoming a star if maintained.
Image: Belga
