Darnel Situ

Darnel Situ

Personal information
Full name	Darnel Situ-Buyente
Date of birth	18 March 1992 (1992-03-18) (age 19)
Place of birth	Rouen, France
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current club	Swansea City
Number	32
Youth career
1999–2003	Saint-Étienne du Rouvray
2003–2009	Lens
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2009–2011	Lens	0	(0)
2011–	Swansea City	0	(0)
National team‡
2007–2008	France U16	11	(2)
2008–2009	France U17	17	(3)
2009–2010	France U18	9	(1)
2010–2011	France U19	12	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 October 2010. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 00:17, 2 September 2011 (UTC)

Darnel Situ-Buyente (born 18 March 1992 in Rouen) is a French football player of Congolese descent who currently plays for Swansea City in the Premier League. He is a French youth international and has captained at all levels of youth he has played at. Situ primarily plays as a centre back or a holding midfielder and is known for his robust physique and physical strength.

Football career

Early career

Situ began his career playing for Football Club Saint-Étienne du Rouvray in the department of Seine-Maritime, spending his childhood years with the club's under-11 squad. In 2003, he moved up north to the next region over joining RC Lens on a youth contract. While at the Gaillette, short for the Centre Technique et Sportif de la Gaillette, Lens's youth academy, Situ established himself as one of the club's top youth prospects, alongside fellow defender William Rémy and midfielders Alexandre Coeff and Mehdi Abeid. He captained Lens's under-16 team that reached the semi-final stage of the Championnat National under-16 league, though Lens finished the group stage without a single point. While playing with the national under-16 team, Situ, alongside Rennes starlet Jérémy Helan, drew the interest of Premier League clubs Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool, as well as Portsmouth.^[1][2] Situ, at one point, met with Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, but a deal could not be reached.^[3] France teammate Helan later joined Manchester City.

Lens

Despite constant rumors of the Situ rejecting a contract with his parent club for a move abroad, on 4 February 2009, he signed his first professional contract agreeing to a three-year deal with Lens.^[4] For the 2009–10 season, despite being only 17, he was inserted onto the club's senior team, but was not assigned a number. Manager Jean-Guy Wallemme, instead, allowed the young player to get some stable playing time in the Championnat de France amateur, the fourth division of French football, with the team's reserve squad. Situ made his debut in the reserves opening match against Vesoul Haute-Saône, appearing as a substitute. He earned his first start the following week playing the entire 90 minutes in the team's 0–0 draw with Olympique Noisy-le-Sec. After appearing on the bench for several league and cup matches with the senior team at the start of the 2010 portion of the season, Situ made his professional debut in the club's Round of 64 Coupe de France match against amateur club AFC Compiègne. He started the match in the centre back position alongside veteran Ala Eddine Yahia and played the entire 90 minutes in the team's 1–0 victory.

Situ had a trial at Newcastle United and scored a goal in his debut in a reserves match 5-0 win over Gateshead Reserves.

Swansea

Situ agreed a two-year deal with Swansea on 31 August 2011 signing for an initial fee of £250,000.^[5] Several weeks later, FIFA announced that international clearence wouldn't be granted for Situ. ^[6]

International career

Situ is known for his impeccable leadership. He has captained several of his youth sides, which include the under-16, under-17, and, most recently, the under-18 team. With the under-16s, Situ made ten appearances, scoring two goals. With the under-17 team, he was designated as captain and tasked with the challenge of qualifying for the 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship. Situ led the team to qualification while appearing in 17 of the 19 total matches contested, scoring three goals against England in the Algarve Cup, Belarus in qualification for under-17 competition, and against Switzerland in the tournament itself. France was eliminated in the group stage portion of the tournament following their loss to Italy.

Situ joined the under-18 team in August 2009, as an underage player, playing with his elder peers at the SBS Cup in the Japanese prefecture of Shizuoka. He finished the 2009–10 under-18 campaign with nine caps and one goal, which came against Denmark.

References

1. ^ "United bid for French starlets". Sky Sports. 20 May 2008. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11667_3588264,00.html. Retrieved 9 January 2010. 
2. ^ "Man Utd, Liverpool battle for Lens kid Situ-Buyence". Trial Football. 23 August 2008. http://www.tribalfootball.com/content/man-utd-liverpool-battle-lens-kid-situ-buyence. Retrieved 9 January 2010. 
3. ^ "Interview exclusive de Darnel Situ du RC Lens". Espoirs du Football. 15 March 2009. http://www.espoirsdufootball.com/643-interview-exclusive-de-darnel-situ-du-rc-lens.html. Retrieved 9 January 2010. 
4. ^ "Huit jeunes signent un nouveau contrat!". RC Lensois. 4 February 2009. http://www.rclensois.fr/a2473-huit-jeunes-signent-un-nouveau-contrat.html. Retrieved 9 January 2010. 
5. ^ "Swans snap up Situ from Lens". http://www.swanseacity.net/page/Latest/0,,10354~2438127,00.html. 
6. ^ http://www.skysports.com/story/0,,11681_7178592,00.html

External links

• Darnel Situ profile at rclens.fr
• Darnel Situ French league stats at LFP.fr (French)

Persondata
Name	Situ, Darnel
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	18 March 1756
Place of birth	Rouen, France
Date of death
Place of death