Detroit City Wire

Detroit City Football Club has announced the acquisition of forward Ates Diouf on loan from Lexington SC. The agreement is for a season-long loan, and Diouf will wear jersey number 32 for Detroit City FC this season.

Ates Diouf, originally from Dakar, Senegal, has spent the last two seasons with Lexington SC in USL League One. In his first season with the Kentucky club, he emerged as their leading goal scorer during their inaugural season by netting 15 goals. His performance earned him a spot on the USL League One All-League First Team in 2023. In 2024, Diouf continued to perform well at Lexington, scoring ten goals and providing five assists. His efforts were recognized with a place on the 2024 USL League One All-League Second Team.

Prior to joining Lexington, Diouf played for San Antonio FC in the USL Championship during the 2022 season. He participated in eleven matches and started five times, contributing to San Antonio's first league title victory.

During the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Diouf was part of Austin Bold FC in the USL Championship. Over these two years with the Texas-based team, he played in 38 out of a possible 48 matches, scoring five goals and assisting on another five.

Diouf was initially recruited to play in the United States after being scouted by SIMA Águilas from USL League Two. He made five appearances with Águilas in 2018 before moving to Orlando City B in 2019. At Orlando City B, he scored his first professional goal against South Georgia Tormenta FC and went on to play seventeen matches for them in USL League One.