Dorgeles is his name, but many elect to call him purely by his surname, Nene. The nimble attacker moved from his homeland in Mali in January 2021 to Salzburg and immediately impressed at FC Liefering. A detour took him to SV Ried before the player, now 20, went on loan last summer to Belgium for a season to KVC Westerlo.

Dorgeles Nene soon became a regular starter at the newly promoted Jupiler League side and helped them to a mid-table position with his strong performances up front. He has also been able to contribute with some goal involvements for his national team as part of African Cup of Nations qualifying.

The man from Mali is now back with our Red Bulls and is ready to roar out of the starting gates of the 2023/24 season and battle for a spot in our attacking ranks. In order to help you get to know our attacker better, we invited him to an interview at our training camp in Saalfelden.

Dorgeles Nene interview

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Hi Dorgeles, how does it feel to be back in Salzburg and with our squad again?

I feel really happy and am pleased to be back in Salzburg. I will give everything to make my breakthrough here and get my chance to impress. The team have welcomed me really well after my return, for sure!

How was the year in Belgium for you?

I had a good time in Belgium and was able to gather some important experiences. I soon found my way into the team. I was really pleased to score 13 goals and provide four assists for KVC Westerlo. It was important that I felt happy there and almost always played.

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^{The KVC Westerlo fans soon made marksman Dorgeles Nene a firm favourite.}

Was it similar to us at KVC Westerlo or were there a few key differences?

The infrastructure is very different, of course. Everything is just fantastic in all regards here in Salzburg! Westerlo were only recently promoted and are still building up.

I felt really happy there though, for sure. There were a lot of French speakers in the team, of course, which made it easier for me.

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How do you feel in the pre-season with us after making your first friendly appearance?

The football here is rather different to what I had in Belgium last season. There was much more of a focus on possession there. Pressing against the ball was not so high there, and our way of playing here is extremely intensive. We hunt opponents right back in their own half - I have to get stuck in and get used to that.

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^{Dorgeles Nene made his first appearance of the pre-season against Legia Warsaw.}

Is there an idol you seek to emulate or whose playing style you would compare your own too?

It's quite simply important to me that I always manage to help my team. I really like our pressing style, and at the same time I can develop in a few regards by playing it. My biggest inspirations are Kylian Mbappe with his speed and Neymar with his technique and dribbling.

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One last question - what are your aims for the new season?

My main aim is to settle back in here as soon as possible. We are a team with a lot of young and talented players. When we get going together, we can have a lot of joy playing football. Of course I want to further develop as a person too, and help the team. As a striker the best way to do that is by scoring as many goals as possible.

I am hoping for as much playing time as possible, of course. Our aims for the new season are naturally winning the league title and cup and performing as well as possible in the UEFA Champions League.

Dorgeles Nene interview after loan return