Lassine Sinayoko, Paris’s new name for goals

Lassine Sinayoko is being presented as Paris’s new name for goals. The 26-year-old Malian forward, who joined Paris FC from Auxerre last summer, appears to have found in the French capital the right setting to advance his career—not at PSG, but with Paris FC.

His 12 Ligue 1 goals for Auxerre in 2025/26 led the Parisian club to place its faith in him. After five Ligue 1 matches in 2026/27, he already has four goals, a start that suggests he intends to surpass his previous benchmarks.

Known as “Lasso”, Sinayoko does not fit the fixed profile of a penalty-box centre-forward. Powerful and able to play on either wing, he is currently shining as the focal point of Liam Rosenior’s side. He can occupy centre-backs and receive with his back to goal, while also moving wide, carrying the ball and attacking space. When he has room ahead of him, his ability to accelerate makes him unstoppable; against a deep-lying opponent, he also leaves the penalty area to take part in build-up play.

His recent progress is notably linked to his improvement with his back to goal. The forward can hold the ball up, lay it off, turn and continue the move, actions that bring fluency to his team’s attacking play. At 1.86 metres tall and with his ability to carry the ball at speed, that versatility makes life difficult for the defenders facing him.

That momentum found a striking expression at the Vélodrome, where Sinayoko scored the first professional hat-trick of his career to give Paris FC a 3-2 win over Olympique de Marseille. He therefore has four goals in five Ligue 1 matches in 2026/27, after scoring 12 in 32 appearances for Auxerre last season. Before that, he had managed only 29 goals in his first 167 league matches for the club. Until the 2025/26 season, he had also played almost exclusively on the wings rather than in the number-nine role he now occupies.

Paris FC signed him until June 2029 after paying Auxerre €7.5 million to get ahead of other interested clubs, including Leeds, Brighton and Crystal Palace. It has been reported that the Vélodrome already held a fond memory for him: in November 2024, while still wearing the Auxerre shirt, Sinayoko scored at Marseille’s stadium.

The figures from his career reflect the evolution of his relationship with scoring. His profile could have suited the English championship, but for now, and until proven otherwise, Lassine Sinayoko is Paris’s new name for goals.