1. Overview
Luis Fernando Sinisterra Lucumí is a professional footballer from Colombia who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder. He currently plays for AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League and represents the Colombia national team. Sinisterra began his career in Colombia with Once Caldas before moving to European football, where he notably played for Feyenoord in the Eredivisie and Leeds United in the Premier League. He has also represented Colombia at both youth and senior international levels.
2. Early Life and Background
Luis Fernando Sinisterra Lucumí was born on June 17, 1999, in Santander de Quilichao, a municipality in the Cauca Department of Colombia. His early life in Colombia set the foundation for his professional football career.
3. Club career
Sinisterra's professional club career began in Colombia before he made a significant move to European football, establishing himself in the Netherlands and then in England.
3.1. Once Caldas
Sinisterra started his professional career at Once Caldas, a club based in Manizales, Colombia. He made his debut for the club in 2016. During his time with Once Caldas, he played in the Categoría Primera A, Colombia's top football league. Over three seasons, he made 43 league appearances, scoring 5 goals. He also contributed 1 goal in 4 appearances in domestic cup competitions, bringing his total for Once Caldas to 6 goals in 47 appearances across all competitions.
3.2. Feyenoord
On July 8, 2018, Sinisterra made his move to European football, signing with Dutch club Feyenoord for a reported transfer fee of 2.00 M EUR. His initial contract was for three years, with an option for an additional two years. He scored his first goal for Feyenoord on August 8, 2019, netting the opening goal in a UEFA Europa League third qualifying round match against FC Dinamo Tbilisi.
In February 2020, Sinisterra was recognized as the Eredivisie Player of the Month under-21 for January 2020, following a impressive run where he scored in three consecutive matches. Feyenoord exercised the option in his contract on November 12, 2020, extending his stay with the club for two more years until 2023.
Sinisterra continued to make an impact, notably scoring a hat-trick on August 19, 2021, in the first leg of Feyenoord's UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round tie against Swedish club IF Elfsborg. He played a crucial role in Feyenoord's run to the UEFA Europa Conference League final in the 2021-22 season, where they finished as runners-up. During this campaign, he scored 6 goals in 12 appearances. His performances earned him individual accolades, including the UEFA Europa Conference League Young Player of the Season and a spot in the UEFA Europa Conference League Team of the Season for 2021-22. Overall, for Feyenoord, he recorded 20 goals in 76 league appearances, 1 goal in 8 domestic cup appearances, and 13 goals in 27 continental appearances, alongside 1 goal in 2 other matches, totaling 35 goals in 113 appearances.
3.3. Leeds United
On July 7, 2022, Sinisterra transferred to English Premier League club Leeds United, signing a five-year contract. The transfer fee was reported to be 21.00 M GBP, making him the most expensive outgoing transfer in Feyenoord's history.
He quickly found the net for his new club, scoring his debut goal for Leeds on August 24, 2022, in a 3-1 victory against Barnsley in the EFL Cup second round at Elland Road. Days later, he scored his first Premier League goal, an equalizer in a 1-1 home draw against Everton. Despite suffering from injury spells that kept him out of the team from November 2022 to mid-January 2023, and again for the final five crucial matches of the season in April and May, Sinisterra finished the season as Leeds United's second-highest goal scorer in all competitions, behind Rodrigo. During his time at Leeds, he made 21 league appearances, scoring 6 goals, and added 2 goals in 5 cup appearances, for a total of 8 goals in 26 appearances.
3.4. AFC Bournemouth
On September 2, 2023, Sinisterra joined AFC Bournemouth on a season-long loan as part of a swap deal with Jaidon Anthony moving to Leeds United. After contributing 3 goals and 3 assists in 17 appearances across all competitions during his loan spell, Sinisterra's move to Bournemouth was made permanent on February 9, 2024, for a reported transfer fee of 20.00 M GBP. This permanent transfer was formally completed in the summer 2024 transfer window. On August 31, 2024, he scored the winning goal in stoppage time during a 3-2 victory over Everton. As of February 25, 2025, he has made 30 league appearances, scoring 3 goals, and 4 cup appearances, scoring 1 goal, for a total of 5 goals in 34 appearances for Bournemouth.
4. International career
Luis Sinisterra has represented Colombia at various international levels, from youth teams to the senior national squad.
4.1. Colombia U-20
Sinisterra was part of the Colombian under-20 national team that participated in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Poland. He made 5 appearances and scored 2 goals for the U-20 squad during his time with the team.
4.2. Colombia senior team
Sinisterra made his debut for the senior Colombia national team on October 15, 2019, in a friendly match against Algeria, which Colombia lost 3-0.
His first international goal for the senior team came on September 24, 2022, when he scored Colombia's second goal in a 4-1 victory against Guatemala. Just three days later, on September 27, he scored a brace against Mexico, helping his team secure a 3-2 win after initially trailing 2-0 at half-time. He continued to contribute goals, scoring his fourth international goal on June 8, 2024, in a 5-1 win against the USA. His fifth international goal was scored on October 15, 2024, in a 4-0 victory against Chile during a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification match. As of October 15, 2024, Sinisterra has accumulated 18 appearances and 5 goals for the Colombia senior national team.
5. Career statistics
5.1. Club statistics
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Once Caldas | 2016 | Categoría Primera A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2017 | 22 | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | 26 | 2 | |||||
| 2018 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 19 | 4 | |||||
| Total | 43 | 5 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | 47 | 6 | |||||
| Feyenoord | 2018-19 | Eredivisie | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | - | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2019-20 | 21 | 5 | 3 | 0 | - | 8 | 2 | - | 32 | 7 | ||||
| 2020-21 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 5 | |||
| 2021-22 | 30 | 12 | 1 | 0 | - | 18 | 11 | - | 49 | 23 | ||||
| Total | 76 | 20 | 8 | 1 | - | 27 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 113 | 35 | |||
| Leeds United | 2022-23 | Premier League | 19 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 22 | 7 | ||
| 2023-24 | Championship | 2 | 1 | - | 2 | 0 | - | - | 4 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 21 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 26 | 8 | ||||
| AFC Bournemouth (loan) | 2023-24 | Premier League | 20 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | 23 | 3 | |||
| AFC Bournemouth | 2024-25 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 11 | 2 | |||
| Total | 30 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 34 | 5 | ||||
| Career total | 168 | 34 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 27 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 218 | 54 | ||
5.2. International statistics
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 4 | 3 | |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 7 | 2 | |
| Total | 18 | 5 | |
Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sinisterra goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 September 2022 | Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States | Guatemala | 2-0 | 4-1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 27 September 2022 | Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, United States | Mexico | 1-2 | 3-2 | |
| 3 | 2-2 | |||||
| 4 | 8 June 2024 | Commanders Field, Maryland, United States | USA | 4-1 | 5-1 | Friendly |
| 5 | 15 October 2024 | Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia | Chile | 4-0 | 4-0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
6. Honours
Luis Sinisterra has achieved both team and individual accolades throughout his career.
6.1. Team honours
- UEFA Europa Conference League runner-up: 2021-22 (with Feyenoord)
6.2. Individual honours
- Eredivisie Talent of the Month: January 2020
- Eredivisie Team of the Month: February 2022, April 2022
- UEFA Europa Conference League Team of the Season: 2021-22
- UEFA Europa Conference League Young Player of the Season: 2021-22