Following the confirmation of his arrival at West Ham United, we take a photographic journey through Soungoutou Magassa’s glittering career in football so far.
Born in the suburb of Stains in northern Paris in October 2003 and raised in Sucy-en-Brie in the south east of the French capital, Magassa grew up playing for four local clubs, starting at Sucy FC and RC Joinville between the ages of five and nine, then Lusitanos Saint-Maur for four seasons and FC Gobelins for one.
He was scouted by Monaco and joined the club’s famous Academy at the age of 14 in 2018. He signed his first professional contract at 17 in 2021 and played regularly in Monaco’s B team in the French fourth tier in 2021/22.
Magassa made his first-team debut at 18 in a French Cup tie against Quevilly-Rouen in January 2022, and his Ligue 1 debut against Stade Rennais in August of the same year, before establishing himself in the senior squad in 2023/24, playing predominantly as a left centre-back.
Magassa appeared three times at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup finals in Argentina and was included in Thierry Henry’s France squad for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, featuring on five occasions as the host nation finished as runners-up to Spain.
Last season, 2024/25, he moved to a defensive midfield role and appeared 31 times in all competitions, including seven UEFA Champions League ties and the Trophée des Champions tie with Paris Saint-Germain. He then featured four times as France reached the semi-finals of the UEFA European U21 Championship finals in Slovakia.
Check out the images from our newest recruit’s life on the pitch so far in the gallery above.
