Wahbi Khazri

Wahbi Khazri

Personal information
Full name	Wahbi Khazri[1]
Date of birth	8 February 1991
Place of birth	Ajaccio, Corsica, France
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team	Sunderland
Number	10
Youth career
1995–2003	JS Ajaccio
2003–2009	Bastia
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2014	Bastia	171	(31)
2014–2016	Bordeaux	52	(14)
2016–	Sunderland	21	(2)
National team^‡
2009	Tunisia U20	1	(1)
2012	France U21	1	(0)
2013–	Tunisia	27	(10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 November 2016. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2015

Wahbi Khazri (Arabic: وهبي خزري‎‎; born 8 February 1991) is a professional footballer who plays for the Tunisian national football team and Sunderland in the Premier League.

Club career

Bastia

A native of Ajaccio, Khazri started his career with local side Jeunesse Sportive Ajaccio before moving to SC Bastia. He received his first call up to the senior squad for their match against Amiens SC on 20 February 2009.^[2] He made his debut in that match coming on as a substitute in the 85th minute for Ludovic Genest. Bastia scored the winning goal a minute later to win the match 1–0.^[3] He scored his first career goal on 13 March 2009, in a 1–0 victory over Montpellier.^[4] Wahbi quickly established himself as a goalscorer, scoring again a couple of weeks later in a 3–1 win over Vannes.^[5] He scored again, this time on the final match day of the season against Troyes, scoring the first goal in a 2–1 victory.^[6] The loss meant Troyes would be relegated to the Championnat National.

Bordeaux

After five years in Bastia, Khazri signed a four-year contract with FC Girondins de Bordeaux in July 2014.^[7]

Sunderland

Khazri (right) playing for Sunderland against Chelsea in May 2016

On 30 January 2016, Khazri joined Sunderland on a four and a half year contract for an undisclosed fee.^[8] Khazri scored his first goal for Sunderland against Manchester United on 13 February 2016, opening the scoring with a direct free kick that beat David de Gea at his far post. Khazri later set up Lamine Koné's 82nd minute goal from a corner, as Sunderland won 2-1.^[9]He scored against Chelsea to make it 1-1 in a huge game. A first time volley in to the top corner that helped Sunderland to a 3-2 victory. In the following game, which Sunderland won 3-0 (against Everton), his set pieces were crucial, nearly scoring direct from a corner that was eventually turned in by Lamine Kone. This result confirmed Sunderland's future in the Premier League and relegated bitter rivals Newcastle.

International career

Youth teams

In 2009, Khazri made his debut for the Tunisia national under-20 football team.^[10] However, in November 2011, he was called up by Erick Mombaerts to the France national under-21 football team for a pair of 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualifiers against Romania and Slovakia.^[11] In February 2012, he played his first and only game for the French side, against Italy, before being substituted by Frédéric Bulot.^[12]

Senior team

In late 2012, Khazri switched his international allegiance once again, when he accepted a call-up from Sami Trabelsi, the Tunisian national team's coach, including him in the squad for the 2013 African Cup of Nations.^[13]

Career statistics

Club statistics

As of 24 August 2016.^[14]

Team	Season	League[nb 1]			Cup[nb 2]		Europe[nb 3]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bastia	2008–09	Ligue 2	13	3	0	0	—		13	3
	2009–10	Ligue 2	31	2	2	0	—		33	2
	2010–11	Championnat National	34	4	7	2	—		41	6
	2011–12	Ligue 2	33	9	2	1	—		35	10
	2012–13	Ligue 1	29	7	3	0	—		32	7
	2013–14	Ligue 1	32	6	2	1	—		34	7
	Total		171	31	16	4	0	0	187	35
Bordeaux	2014–15	Ligue 1	32	9	2	0	—		34	9
	2015–16	Ligue 1	20	5	2	0	8	1	30	6
	Total		52	14	4	0	8	1	64	15
Sunderland	2015–16	Premier League	14	2	0	0	—		14	2
	2016–17	Premier League	1	0	1	0	—		2	0
	Total		15	2	1	0	0	0	16	2
Career total			238	47	21	4	8	1	267	52

Notes

1. Includes Ligue 1, Ligue 2 and Championnat National.
2. Includes Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and Trophée des champions.
3. Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup

References

1. "Squads for 2016/17 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
2. Baptême du feu pour Khazri
3. Amiens v. Bastia Match Report
4. Bastia v. Montpellier Match Report
5. Bastia v. Vannes Match Report
6. Bastia v. Troyes Match Report
7. "Wahbi Khazri signs for Bordeaux!". girondins.com. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
8. "404".
9. "Khazri shows he can give Sunderland a new start after troubled week".
10. "Montpellier : vers l'association Saihi-Khazri". Topnet.tn. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
11. Jérôme Negroni (28 February 2010). "Khazri : " Un beau match à jouer "". SC-Bastia.net. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
12. "Match : France – Italie". fff.fr. 28 February 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
13. "Khazri switches allegiance to Tunisia". aljazeera.com. 21 December 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
14. Wahbi Khazri profile, footballdatabase eu, Retrieved 15 June 2012.

External links

• LFP Profile