Pogoń Szczecin is trialling several young African players in its second team. The initiative is part of a new scouting project overseen for about two months by director of recruitment Benjamin Schunk.
Recent arrivals in Szczecin include 17-year-old Abdoulaye Sidibe, 18-year-old centre-back Jean Ulrich Digbeu, 18-year-old attacking midfielder Goue Ephraim Ben Mickael, and left-back Jose Gabriel Mendy. Sidibe, who turns 18 in January, even featured in the first team's recent friendly against Udinese. Head coach Oscar Garcia explained his status. „He came to us from an Academy in Africa. He is 17, he will turn 18 in January.” Garcia said.
Digbeu and Ben Mickael, both from Ivory Coast, have previous call-ups to their country's youth national teams. Mendy from Senegal previously participated in the Garuda Select program in England. Daniel Trzepacz confirmed the project is expanding. „Our information indicates the group of young African players on trial with the second team has grown in recent days, and more could arrive in the coming weeks,” he stated.
The club, sitting fifth in the Ekstraklasa with 15 points from eight games, is searching for raw talent for the future. The trials run alongside the first team's solid form, which included a 1-1 draw with Italian side Udinese in a recent friendly. Sidibe entered that match after 60 minutes. All proceeds from the game were dedicated to supporting Robert Dymkowski.
The next test for Garcia's side is a league fixture against Korona Kielce on October 11th. Ahead of that match, fans can check the full fixtures schedule. The squad list list and player statistics are available on our squad and stats pages.
More detail at Weszło
