Ousmane Ndong (born 20 September 1999) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Albion.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1999-09-20) 20 September 1999 (age 23) | ||
| Place of birth | Dakar, Senegal | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back[1] | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Albion | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Angelo Africa | |||
| Teungueth FC | |||
| Cayor Foot FC | |||
| 2018–2020 | Lanús | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2021 | Lanús | 2 | (0) |
| 2022– | Albion | 4 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:53, 12 April 2022 (UTC) | |||
Ndong started out as a central midfielder, spending his early youth years in Senegal with Angelo Africa, Teungueth FC and Cayor Foot FC.[3][4] In 2018, Ndong moved to Argentina to join Primera División team Lanús.[4][5][6] He played in their academy for two years, latterly as captain, whilst transforming into a centre-back.[4] He made the breakthrough into Luis Zubeldía's first-team in mid-2020.[4][7] He scored in a friendly against Arsenal de Sarandí on 29 September, before making his senior debut in the Copa de la Liga Profesional against Newell's Old Boys on 14 November; becoming the first Senegalese player to play in the Argentine top-flight.[2][4][8] On 3 January 2022 it was confirmed, that Ndong's contract with Lanús had been terminated.[9]
At the end of February 2022, Ndong moved to Uruguayan Primera División side Albion.[2]
Born in Dakar, Ndong was born with two brothers and one sister.[5] His father is a retired policeman, while his mother (d. 2019) was a doctor.[5][10] He was childhood friends with Sadio Mané.[4] In 2019, in Argentina, Ndong was robbed at gunpoint.[4] He also suffered racist abuse while in the South American country.[4][5] It took him nine months to learn Spanish, having only previously spoken French and partial English.[11] Ndong states his love of Argentina came from watching Lionel Messi and the Argentina national team; revealing he cried when the nation was eliminated from the Copa América Centenario.[4]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lanús | 2020–21[nb 1] | Primera División | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||