GdS: A midfielder with a handbrake – Sylla’s journey to USG and why Milan are interested

By: Ben Dixon

AC Milan have been considering a move for Massire Sylla recently and the Senegalese defender’s stock is only rising currently.

There are plenty of defensive options for Milan in the winter mercato. Goncalo Inacio is probably the preference for most, but the profile of Sylla cannot be ignored. Another signing for the future, he’s similar in many ways to Sankhoun Diawara, and the Frenchman has already started to have an impact.

Gazzetta dello Sport have looked a little at his background and his profile. A physical defender, he has previously admitted that he’s a lover of ‘the fight’; a player who loves duels and wins them a lot of the time.

Called up to the Senegalese national team this month, his story is one of patience, tenacity and the ability to persist when faced with obstacles. His career started at Diambars Academy, one of the most notorious in Senegal, starting as a midfielder but eventually moving back to defence.

His coaches wanted him to learn to play with his feet, but his defensive qualities shone, hence the move back. With that, though, he started to see the ball more and both aspects of his game improved substantially.

From there, he joined Pau in 2024 and within six months, he was playing for the senior team in Ligue 2. At 19, he moved to Lyn and then Union Saint-Gilloise paid €2 million for him last January.

It wasn’t an immediate fit, though, and he was called overexcited, thanks to his yellow card record. Yet, he’s settled and now is a key figure in a three-man defence and picking out his best traits are difficult because there are so many.