Nineteen years old, and straight into the reserves
Olympique Lyonnais confirmed the arrival of Ismael Jabateh on Thursday morning. The 19-year-old centre-back joins from Sturm Graz. He will not go straight into the first-team squad.
“The central defender Ismael Jabateh has joined Olympique Lyonnais. The 19-year-old, who came through the AJ Auxerre academy, moved to Sturm Graz in the summer of 2025. He will join the pro2 group led by Gueida Fofana,” the club said in its statement.
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Three countries before his twentieth birthday
Jabateh came through the ranks at AJ Auxerre before heading to Austria in the summer of 2025. A year later, he has moved countries again. Now he is in Lyon, working under Gueida Fofana, who runs the club’s reserve side.
The club is not hiding what this is: a punt on the future. Jabateh will start with the pro2 side and hope a path opens up to the Ligue 1 squad down the line.
Three out, two in, and a window that got ugly
OL have come through a brutal transfer window. Duje Caleta-Car, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Malick Fofana all left the Rhone in the closing stretch. Maitland-Niles headed to Everton, while Fofana went to Sunderland after a few days of soap-opera drama.
As for arrivals, Keito Nakamura signed on Wednesday as a late addition. Jabateh followed 24 hours later, with a completely different profile and a completely different horizon.
The window is now shut in France. Lyon will have to make do with this squad until January, after a Champions League play-off exit sent them into the Europa League.
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