Dilane Bakwa’s start to the season hasn’t been easy, having struggled with injuries and competition since arriving from Bordeaux in the summer, but he’s turning heads and helping his club win matches with his recent play.
Hailing, like so many promising young players, from the Paris suburbs (Creteil, in his case), Dilane Bakwa took his time to make his mark in the game. He was with Saint-Maur Lusitanos until the age of 14, when he was spotted by scouts at the Bordeaux academy. Moving to France’s southwest was a challenging proposition for the youngster, but it proved to be the correct one.
Soon a regular with France’s youth teams, Bakwa would make his first team debut in the 2020/2021 season, playing sparingly in the face of competitions from players like Samuel Kalu, Rémi Oudin and Nicolas De Préville. Relegation followed the next season, although through no fault of Bakwa’s as he continued to play sparingly as the club, with the departure of manager Vladimir Petkovic failing to change his situation.
Last season with Les Girondins, however, saw him as a revelation. Under David Guion, he was a nailed-on starter on the right flank, and rewarded his manager’s confidence handsomely, racking up seven assists — good for third in Ligue 2 — and five goals at the age of twenty. With Bordeaux having missed out on promotion on the final day of the season, though, an offer to move up to Ligue 1 with Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace was an offer too good to turn down.
🗣️ "He has enormous potential;
— Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace English (@RCSA_English) October 5, 2023
now he needs to put things into place so he can express himself."
Patrick Vieira on the improvement shown by Dilane Bakwa ahead of #RCSAFCN pic.twitter.com/vuPrrn1wvO
Arriving alongside his Bordeaux teammate, midfielder Junior Mwanga, he was proud to have joined a legendary club, telling the team’s media, “I’m arriving with a lot of ambition but also a lot of humility, and I will contribute to the collective effort to help the club achieve its goals.”
The start of the season proved to be tough for Bakwa, though. Patrick Vieira’s preference for a three-man defence and the form of Jean-Ricner Bellegarde made a pathway to the first team a challenging one. Bellegarde’s move to the Premier League would eventually open a place in the team for him, before suffering what looked a serious injury against Clermont in early November.
✅ First goal for Dilane Bakwa!#FCLRCSA pic.twitter.com/Hyje72tBHy
— Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace English (@RCSA_English) December 18, 2023
Despite being expected to be out for six weeks, though he was back in half that time, and re-established in the starting lineup, displacing Chelsea loanee Ângelo Gabriel on the right flank. With his pace, energy and willingness to work hard for the team, he has been indispensable via both his quality of play and versatility, as he and Habib Diarra frequently switch flanks in Vieira’s 4-2-3-1.
Also a strong taker of set pieces, he was even rewarded with his first goal this weekend, netting the opener against Lorient on Sunday. Part of a talented cadre of young players that includes Diarra, Mwanga, strikers Emanuel Emegha and Moïse Sahi Dion and midfielder Ismäel Doukouré, he is helping drive Racing’s strong form (just one loss in seven) and bright future!
