The Story So Far: Mo Dabre

An in-depth look on Sutton’s latest recruit: Mo Dabre

Hailing from Italy to Burkinabè parents, Mo Dabre’s footballing journey began in his homeland with Calcio Lecco 1912, and caught the eye whilst playing in the youth ranks of the Serie C side.

Starting out in a much more technical league, Dabre established himself as an elusive dribbler with a low centre of gravity, but his development would soon take a turn when his family opted to move across Europe in 2018, allowing the young midfielder to improve his physicality and shine in English football.

Initially landing in Woolwich, London, the 22-year old was picked up by the Swindon Town youth system after a spell in Crystal Palace’s Volenti Academy, and went on to spend two years in Wiltshire.

He subsequently made his debut for the club a month after joining, and even scored the opening goal in a 2-1 EFL Trophy win over Arsenal’s Under-21’s, before going on to start all four of Town’s games in that competition in a variety of positions, including right wing, right wing-back and left wing-back. Having shown his versatility and adaptability during his brief career at Swindon so far, he also got a three-minute cameo against Manchester City in the FA Cup Third Round, before seeing his progress monitored across countless loan spells away from the County Ground.

Mo put pen to paper on a one-year contract extension in SN1 ahead of the 2021/22 season, committing his immediate future at Swindon before impressing during pre-season for the Robins, and later joined Chippenham Town on a long-term youth loan to gain valuable and vital experience of playing regular first team football. He went on to play in all but one of the Bluebirds’ final 12 games of the campaign as they secured a seventh place finish in the National League South, reaching the National League South play-offs as a result, and subsequently started in both of Chippenham’s play-off games, with the club losing at the semi-final stage to eventual winners Ebbsfleet United.

After departing Hardenhuish Park with one goal from 13 appearances – the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win over Billericay Town – Mo found himself back out on loan after appearing a handful of times at the start of Swindon’s 2022/23 Carabao Cup and Papa John’s Trophy campaigns, making the switch to Banbury United on a month-long loan that gave him the opportunity to get some more competitive minutes under his belt as part of his continued development.

He struggled for game time during his brief stint at the Spencer Stadium though, and was subsequently recalled in November 2023 in order to facilitate a move to Worthing. In what proved to be a far more fruitful spell on the South Coast, Mo had joined a Seals team sat seventh in the sixth tier and went on to play twice for the club under current York City boss Adam Hinshelwood, making an immediate impact with some energetic displays during his limited time at the club. The highlight of his spell was undoubtedly a win at Havant & Waterlooville in early December where his two late goals put the shine on a 5-1 victory, before seeing an injury bring his Worthing career to a premature end. However, having recovered from his knee problem, the Swindon ace returned to Woodside Road in January and ended the campaign with 18 appearances to his name, again helping the side reach the National League South play-offs with five goals, and played 45 minutes in a 2-0 semi-final defeat to eventual winners Oxford City.

The start of the 2023/24 season then brought change for Mo, with Swindon opting against renewing his contract. He subsequently joined Chelmsford City and played eight times across just five months with the Clarets, before making the switch to fellow National League South side Tonbridge Angels.

The Italian midfielder, who has West African heritage, had remained at the Longmead Stadium ever since and quickly endeared himself to supporters and teammates alike with his dynamic work rate, while his energy and quality was enough to convince manager Jay Saunders to extend his deal ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

Likening himself to former Leicester City and Chelsea midfielder, N’Golo Kanté, he became something of a diamond in Tonbridge’s midfield, and now departs Kent with 51 appearances to his name including two goals from midfield – the third goal in a 4-0 win over Dartford in just his third appearance and a second half equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Havant & Waterlooville three months later – following Tonbridge teammate Liam Vincent to Gander Green Lane ahead of the 2025/26 Vanarama National League season as he embarks on his first campaign at Step 1.