Yacouba Sylla

Yacouba Sylla (born 29 November 1990 in Étampes, France) is a French-born Malian footballer who currently plays as a defensive midfielder for Aston Villa in the Premier League.

Youth career
Prior to joining Clermont Foot where Sylla signed his first professional contract he had a year's stint with first division club SM Caen. Before that, Sylla had started his career with hometown Parisian club Étampes FC before joining nearby club CSF Brétigny, which produced France internationals Patrice Evra and Jimmy Briand. After four years in Brétigny, Sylla spent the next four years roaming around clubs in the Lower Normandy region such as AS Montferrand, SC Malesherbes, and Caen. And then in 2009, he signed an amateur contract with Clermont where he was inserted into Clermont's reserve team for the 2009–10 season. He appeared in 17 matches scoring one goal.

Clermont Foot
For the 2010–11 season, Sylla was promoted to the senior team by manager Michel Der Zakarian. He made his professional debut on 15 October 2010 in a league match against Le Mans playing the entire match in a 2–0 defeat. Sylla subsequently appeared as a starter in the team's next seven matches. His performances domestically led to interest from German club VfB Stuttgart and Italian club Udinese. In order to decrease the interest Clermont signed Sylla to his first professional contract, which ran from November 22, 2010 until June 2014.

Aston Villa
On 31 January 2013, Aston Villa completed the signing of Sylla on a three-and-a-half year deal, subject to international clearance, after passing a medical. He was given the number 18 shirt, last worn by Emile Heskey.

France
Sylla was born in France but has Malian heritage, which meant that he was eligible to represent either the French or Malian national team. He made one appearance for France's under-21 side on 24 March 2011, in a 3–2 friendly victory over Spain. Sylla was a late substitute for Antoine Griezmann and played the final few minutes of the game.

Mali
Following his move to Aston Villa and positive form towards the end to the 2012–13 season, Sylla was called up to represent Mali for the first time. He first played in an unofficial friendly against the national team of Brittany, France, a side not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA on 28 May 2013. Mali lost 1–0.

Sylla's official, full international début for Mali came on 9 June 2012 in a 1–1 FIFA World Cup qualification draw with Rwanda. Sylla replaced Wolverhampton Wanderers player Tongo Doumbia in the 70th minute. Sylla started and played the full 90 minutes in Mali's 2–2 draw with Benin seven days later, but Mali were unfortunately eliminated from the competition.