Indy Eleven Inks Guinean International Souleymane Youla

Indy Eleven continued to bolster its roster with valuable experience with Saturday’s signing of Guinean international forward Souleymane Youla. Per club policy, financial details of the contract that brings Youla to Indy Eleven will not be released.
 
“I’m very happy to come to Indianapolis to join a very good club in Indy Eleven,” Youla said. “I’m looking forward to scoring goals for this team and believe we can bring a championship to our fans this year. When I visited last month I really liked the city and thought there was great leadership within the club, so I’m excited to see what the future holds here.”
 
Having arrived in Indianapolis on Friday and with his international transfer certificate cleared, Youla will be eligible for selection for Indy Eleven when it shoots for the NASL Spring Season title tonight against the Carolina RailHawks at Carroll Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET kickoff, live on ONE World Sports & www.oneworldsports.com).
 
“The signing of Youla is a continuation of the club’s approach of bringing in experienced, proven players that are expected to produce results,” Indy Eleven coach Tim Hankinson said. “What we saw in Youla when we brought him in last month is a player who is dangerous in and around the goal area and can finish in a multitude of ways.” 
 
The well-traveled Youla has spent most of his 17 professional seasons playing for top division teams in Belgium, Turkey, and France, including with some of those countries’ most recognizable clubs such as Lille (France), Anderlecht (Belgium), and Besiktas (Turkey). The 34-year-old forward most recently played for Hungarian First Division side Budapast Honved FC, having scored 14 goals in 55 appearances. Throughout his career, Youla has scored 108 goals in more than 350 matches across various competitions.
 
“While the club has shown improvement on the field this season, we felt it was important to add one more attacking threat to round out the squad,” Indy Eleven President Jeff Belskus said. “With the team that’s been assembled, we believe all the tools we need to compete for The Championship this season are now in place.”
 
Youla also made 33 appearances for the Guinean men’s national team at the senior level, scoring 11 goals. While a native of Guinea, Youla also gained Turkish citizenship in recent years, having spent nine seasons playing in the country.