RC Strasbourg, now owned by the wealthy American consortium BlueCo, formalized on Tuesday the arrival of young Dilane Bakwa and Junior Mwanga from the Girondins de Bordeaux, two new recruits with high potential. Aged 20, the two players have signed for Racing for four seasons.
Left winger, Bakwa has 12 appearances in Ligue 1. It was especially in Ligue 2 that he revealed himself last season, with 5 goals and 8 assists in 36 games. “He is a young player who perfectly matches the profile we were looking for, a versatile offensive element, capable of playing on the sides as well as in support in the axis”, commented president Marc Keller. He also presented Mwanga as “very promising”. The latter shone as a defensive midfielder last year (33 games), after being trained in Lyon as a central defender.
“This is an important step in my career. Playing at the highest level has always been my dream and I’m really happy at the idea of discovering the Meinau stadium and its atmosphere,” explained Mwanga. He could wear his new jersey on Sunday evening, at the opening of Ligue 1 against Lyon.
If the amount of the operation has not been communicated, their transfer could have cost around 20 million euros to RC Strasbourg Alsace.
An unprecedented amount for Racing, which had already exceeded the symbolic bar of ten million euros for its previous summer recruits: defender Abakar Sylla (20) and striker Emanuel Emegha (20), proof that the Alsatian club has changed in size since its takeover at the beginning of the summer. Other recruits could follow in the coming days, still very young.