Stephy Mavididi makes his nest in Montpellier

A rookie who had remained in the shadows until then, Stephy Mavididi is gradually making its nest in a team from Montpellier which hopes to confirm its start in Ligue 1, Saturday in Bordeaux (5:00 p.m.), and return to the gates of Europe.

Failing to force the door of Arsenal (2010-2018), his training club, then Juventus Turin (2018-2019), the English striker took the tangent of French football to emerge at the highest level: d ' first in Dijon, last year in the form of a loan (8 goals including 5 in Ligue 1), then today in Montpellier, where he was transferred this summer from Juve for 6.3 million euros and a contract four years.

"We made a serious recruiting effort to hire this striker whose profile was missing from our workforce," recalls President Laurent Nicollin.

The click in Monaco

Mavididi has no more time to waste.

Injured to an ankle at the end of the preparation, during a friendly meeting against Rodez (L2) on August 14, the young striker, aged 22 and from Derby in north London, missed the recovery .

But he took advantage of his first real minutes of play to mark his territory and shake up the hierarchy with an attack led by the duo Delort-Laborde.

After a few ends of the match, Mavididi, who entered the break in Monaco on October 18, offered himself a first solo goal (1-1).

Fifteen days later, for his first tenure at Geoffroy-Guichard, he did it again to ensure the first success outside Montpellier (1-0), after having wrapped a strike in the manner of Thierry Henry, his model and former trainer at the Gunners.

"We feel in him the fiber of the striker who can give us important goals."

Florent Mollet

“We feel at home the fiber of the striker who can give us important goals.

In Monaco or Saint-Étienne, he made the difference and a great good for the team, ”notes playmaker Florent Mollet.

"He brings us the qualities that we had detected in him," says coach Michel Der Zakarian.

We wanted a breaking attacker, through his speed and his ball calls.

He demonstrated all that in a beautiful way at Saint-Étienne. ”

The first English player from Montpellier, of Congolese origins, fed his thirst for success in the harshness of the East London district.

“Some have made the wrong choices in their lives, others have died.

Football allowed me to get mine out of there.

My mother worked so hard ... I always want to give her more, to play as high as possible to repay her for all her sacrifices during my childhood, ”this son of a cleaning lady told the regional newspaper Midi-Libre.

Complementary to Delort and Laborde?

Mavididi wants to make his place.

This versatile striker can be at the same time the complement of the duo Delort-Laborde, with twin qualities, and the missing link of a failing team the previous season far from Mosson.

“Beyond his speed and efficiency, Stephy has characteristics complementary to Andy (Delort) and Gaëtan (Laborde), our two warriors”, specifies the coach.

The England under-20 international can play alongside the two center forward.

For this, Montpellier, and Der Zak, are ready to shake up their tactical habits to the point of abandoning their 5-3-2 pattern last week.

In addition, by its percussion force, it widens the palette of the attack.

“When we play in the middle, he brings us solutions to play in the spaces, argues Florent Mollet.

Outside, we had until then a game a little too stereotypical.

Thanks to his qualities, we can hurt the opponent and make him thwart. "

Mavididi, scorer during the last two trips, will seek to force the lock of Bordeaux, defense to zero goals at home.

To continue to make his hole in Ligue 1.

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• League 1 standings