STARS IN EUROPE - BURKINA FASO - CLUB - TRANSFER - Bakary Kone joins Strasbourg on loan

RC Strasbourg Bakary KoneEmbed from Getty Images

Burkina Faso defender Bakary Kone previously played in France for Guingamp and Lyon.

Burkina Faso international defender Bakary Kone has joined newly-promoted French club Strasbourg on a season-long loan from Spanish side Malaga.

The 29-year-old is making a swift return to France after a season in Spain, where he only made seven appearances for Malaga.

A French Cup winner in 2009 with Guingamp and 2012 with Lyon, Kone played 89 matches in Ligue 1 and scored six goals with Lyon between 2011 and 2016.

"It feels good to return to France and I'm ready to give everything to defend the colours of Strasbourg," Kone told the club's official twitter account.

Strasbourg manager Thierry Laurey is delighted with the 2017 French Ligue 2 champions' signing of the Stallion.

"We've been searching for an experienced and dynamic defender like this for a while, so I'm pleased with Kone's arrival," Laurey said.

Kone is expected to join his new club after Burkina Faso's back-to-back 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Senegal next month.

Born in Ouagadougou, Kone began his career at Étoile Filante before moving to France to join Guingamp in 2006.

He has made 62 appearances for his country - scoring twice, and his last game for the Stallions was the third place play-off against Ghana at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.

Kone has played in five consecutive Nations Cups in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017.