Plans turned upside down at Dinamo! They clapped, but the transfer was not made

It is about Ibrahima Cissefootballer with whom Dinamo had entered an advanced stage of negotiations. The club had reached a verbal agreement with both the player and his agent for the stopper to wear the red-white jersey. Cisse is repped by the same agency that also represents Jordan Ikoko.

Why Ibrahima Cisse's transfer to Dinamo failed

However, the move fell through after several days in which the Dynamo officials put the negotiations “on hold”, in the context of the unclear situation surrounding Boateng. The delay led to the cooling of the negotiations, and the transfer never materialized.

At the time, the stopper with dual citizenship, Malian and French, played for Schalke 04, the leader of the Zweite Bundesliga. In the meantime, the centre-back has arrived in the Swiss 2nd League, Aarau, where he signed a contract for just six months. Under these conditions, the Cisse track is not definitively closed for Dinamo, especially if the player will become free in the summer.

Ibrahima Cisse, during the Schalke period // photo: Imago

Portrait of Ibrahima Cisse

Ibrahima Cisse was born on February 15, 2001, in Dreux, France. He began his training at Drouais, then moved on to Chateauroux and Ghent. Senior football debut ticked on December 9, 2021for the Belgians, in a Conference League match, when he replaced Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui, a former player at FC Botoșani.

In 2022, Cisse signed a four-year contract with Schalke 04, but failed to establish himself at the Gelsenkirchen formation. In two seasons he made only 9 appearances and one goal, after having previously made two seasons in the club's second team.

A massive centre-back, Cisse is 1.96 meters tall and has a dominant right foot and is quoted at 250,000 eurosaccording to the transfermarkt specialist portal.

500,000 eurosit was the highest fee ever recorded by the centre-back, according to transfermarkt. It was happening in the fall of 2024, when he made the step from the second team of Schalke to the first.

At the international level, he performed for the youth representatives of the state of Mali. He took part in the 2021 African U20 Cup of Nations qualifiers, and in 2023 he played in the U23 African Cup of Nations, where Mali won the bronze medal, with Cisse even being included in the team of the tournament. He was also selected in Mali's Olympic squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In October 2024, he received his first call-up to the national team of the state of Mali, for the preliminaries of the Africa Cup of Nations. He made his debut on November 19, 2024, entering as a reserve in a categorical victory, 6-0 at home, against those from Eswatini. Until today, it remains the only selection for the first representative team.

What centre-backs does Zeljko Kopic still have at his disposal

The stoppers that Zeljko Kopic has at his disposal are Kennedy Boatengwho will leave the “pack” in the summer, Nikita Stoinovwith a termination clause of 1.5 million euros in the contract, Matteo Duțu, who came this winter from Milan, without many matches standing.

The youth are added to them Cristi Lixandruwho has been dealing with a long-term injury, and Toader chuckled. if needed, Andrei Mărginean, originally a defensive midfielder, he was also used as a stopper.

• With two stages before the end of the regular season, Dinamo is mathematically qualified for the play-offs. Until those games, the “dogs” still have to play FC Argeș (Sunday, March 1, from 18:00, at the National Arena) and CFR Cluj, in Gruia, in the epilogue of the first 30 stages.

• Between the two championship games, Zeljko Kopic's team will try to get access to the penultimate act of the Romanian Cup. Dinamo – Metalul Buzău will take place on Thursday, March 5, from 20:00, on the “Arcul de Triumf”, the place where the “dogs” were undefeated between December 2023 and February 2025.

How the Superliga standings look like: