France-born Ivorian international centre-back struggles to maintain the momentum he built up under Sam Allardyce
Meite started his career at Red Star – the Paris club rather than the Belgrade version – before earning a move to Marseille.
Despite being born in France, he chose to represent the Ivory Coast and appeared in the 2006 World Cup. Meite’s powerful performances – including a towering headed goal against Liverpool during Marseille’s run to the UEFA Cup Final – prompted a long chase for his signature by Sam Allardyce. A change of heart saw him stay at Marseille in 2004 but he joined Bolton two years later and impressed with pace, tight marking and dominance in defence, particularly when partnered by his fellow Abdoulaye, Mr Faye.
Like many Bolton players he endured a far more difficult 2007/08 campaign, perhaps not unrelated to Faye following Allardyce to Newcastle. Meite lost his place to young Lubo Michalik and was briefly frozen out after Gary Megson claimed he refused to play the second half against Manchester United. In the summer he lost his No.5 shirt to Megson signing Gary Cahill and, although he was switched to a William Gallas-style No.10 shirt, it seemed very likely that rumours linking him with West Brom or Hull would lead to a permanent move sooner or later.