Burkinabe defender Bakary Kone joins French club Lyon
Last updated on .From the section Football
Burkina Faso defender Bakary Kone has joined Lyon on a five-year deal, the French side has announced.
The 23-year-old, who has 16 caps, moves from second division Guingamp.
Lyon rushed to seal the deal on Friday following injuries to defenders John Mensah of Ghana and Cris of Brazil.
"The unavailability of John Mensah and Cris has rushed things a little but Kone is a player we had targeted, who we followed for some time," said Lyon coach Remi Garde.
"I have seen many videos of him. He has potential and room for improvement."
Kone trained with his new team-mates for the first time on Friday.
He is expected to make his debut in the second league match of the season against newly-promoted Ajaccio on Saturday.
Kone scopred five goals in 112 appearance for Guingamp and was part of the squad that won the French Cup in 2009
The Burkinabe is the first signing for Lyon coach Remi Garde, who replaced Claude Puel at the start of the season.
Seven-time former champion Lyon won its opening match of the season at Nice 3-1 last weekend.
