York United FC announced on Wednesday the transfer of defender Lassana Faye to Dutch second-tier side SC Telstar.

The left-back made 14 appearances for the Nine Stripes since joining on a one-year deal at the end of 2022.

“We’d like to thank Lassana for his contributions to the club,” says Angus McNab, President/CEO & GM of York United FC.

“It’s an unfortunate situation where he has submitted a transfer request due to family illness. After Lassana informed us, we worked with his agents to secure a move as soon as possible.”

“Lassana is an excellent footballer and we are happy to have provided a platform that enabled him to get back on the field after some challenging years. While we didn’t want to see him leave, we understand the importance of family and we are happy to have reached an agreement that sees everyone making the best of a difficult and sensitive situation.”

25-year-old Faye made his debut for the club in the opening game of the Canadian Premier League campaign: a 2-0 home defeat to Valour FC. It took him a little while to properly gain match fitness but from the subsequent 11 league assignments, he played 90 minutes in nine of them. There was also a Canadian Championship assist for Austin Ricci’s terrific consolation strike against Vancouver Whitecaps at York Lions Stadium.

The fullback – a native of Rotterdam in the Netherlands – has previously been part of the excellent Vitesse team that enjoyed unprecedented success under Henk Fraser, claiming the Dutch Cup in 2017 and subsequently tasting UEFA Europa League action the following season. Faye appeared in five of Vitesse’s six group games and started two of them, including a 1-1 draw with Lazio at the iconic Olympic Stadium as well as a 1-0 victory over OGC Nice. Domestically, Vitesse were excellent once again and finished the season sixth in the table, helped immeasurably by the arrival on loan of Mason Mount from Chelsea.

Faye’s pace and presence on the left flank – and especially his expert deliveries – proved a constant thorn for various sides and his performances have attracted plenty of positive reviews, namely after two successive away wins and clean sheets against Halifax Wanderers and Cavalry FC, with his display against the latter was good enough to be included in the Gatorade Team of the Week.