Lassina Traoré

Rahimo

Traoré began his football career in the youth ranks of Rahimo in his hometown of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. He was scouted by Ajax and brought to South Africa, where was stalled at the clubs' satellite club Ajax Cape Town until he was old enough to legally transfer to Amsterdam.

Ajax Cape Town

Shortly after his 18th birthday, Traoré moved to Europe joining Ajax in January 2019, on a three-and-a-half-year contract. He had previously played for Rahimo in Burkina Faso and was on the books of Ajax Cape Town in South Africa where he finished as top scorer of the reserves team before departing for the Netherlands.

Ajax

Traoré was named on the bench for the first time in Ajax's fateful second leg defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League on 8 May 2019, before making his debut in the final seconds of their 4–1 win over Utrecht in the league four days later. He would have to wait over five months for his next first-team appearance as a late substitute in a 4–0 win against Feyenoord on 27 October 2019. On 24 October 2020, Traoré scored five goals and assisted a further three in a record-breaking 13–0 league victory over VVV-Venlo. Three days later, Traoré earned a penalty-kick and scored his first goal in European competition in a 2–2 draw away to Atalanta in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

Shakhtar Donetsk

On 18 June 2021, it was announced that Traoré had joined Ukrainian Premier League…

Traoré made his international debut for Burkina Faso on 4 May 2017, during a friendly match against Benin.

Lassina Traoré is 1.83 m tall, but his physique makes him well suited for a physical playing style. As a team player, he is technically competent beyond being a typical ‘target man’.

Traoré's mother was a former professional footballer and captained the Burkina Faso women's national football team. His cousin, Bertrand Traoré, is also a professional footballer, who last played as a right winger for Sunderland.