Jean-Lous Akpa Akpro (born 4 January 1985 in Toulouse,^[1] France) is a French-born footballer who originates from Ivory Coast. He plays as a forward and is currently playing for Grimsby Town.

[edit] Career

[edit] Toulouse

Akpa Akpro was born in Toulouse, France. He started his career at French First Division club Toulouse as a youngster in 2003. While at Toulouse, he spent time on loan with Stade Brestois 29 in the French Second Division. He featured in around 40 games for Toulouse from between 2003 and 2007. While at the club he was a part of the France U18 International setup, but withdrew from the squad due to injury.

[edit] FCM Brussels

Jean-Louis signed for FCM Brussels in the summer of 2007. He remained with the club until the end of the 2007–08 season, then he was released by the club. After his release Akpa Akpro had a trial at Milton Keynes Dons in pre season, he was also linked with a move to Colchester United but he didn't get the chance to have a game for them.

[edit] Grimsby Town

On 2 December 2008, Akpa Akpro joined English club Grimsby Town on trial with a view of earning a contract. A day later he received international clearance to play for Grimsby in their reserve league fixture against Bradford City. He played the entire 90 minutes in a 2–1 win for Grimsby. On The 4th December 2008 he signed a 18 month contract keeping him at Blundell Park Until 2010. He was set to make his debut against Port Vale on the 6th of December, but his papers from the Belgian Football Association were not sent on time for him to feature. He instead made his debut against Shrewsbury Town on the 13th of December, and helped Grimsby to record their first home league victory of the season with a 1-0 victory.He made it into the League 2 Team of the Week after setting up Nathan Jarman's winner against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday 17th January 2009. Jean-Louis was paired with Adam Proudlock originally, and the pair destroyed Lincoln City in a 5-1 victory, with Jean-Louis scoring twice. Towards the end of the campaign Barry Conlon became his regular strike partner, and the two of them became vital to the clubs eventual survival from relegation.

[edit] Sporting Family

Akpa Akpro also has a brother called Jean-Jacques Akpa Akpro who has spent time playing football in the French Second Division, as well as playing in the USA.

[edit] External links

• Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro career stats at Soccerbase
• Grimsby Town profile

[edit] References