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Neal Maupay

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Neal Maupay
Maupay playing for France U19 in 2015
Personal information
Full name Neal Maupay[1]
Date of birth (1996-08-14) 14 August 1996 (age 28)[2]
Place of birth Versailles, France
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward, attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Brighton & Hove Albion
Number 7
Youth career
2002–2007 US Valbonne
2007–2012 Nice
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2015 Nice 44 (6)
2015–2017 Saint-Étienne 15 (1)
2016–2017 → Brest (loan) 28 (11)
2017–2019 Brentford 85 (37)
2019– Brighton & Hove Albion 37 (10)
International career
2011–2012 France U16 13 (6)
2012–2013 France U17 8 (4)
2014–2015 France U19 12 (5)
2014 France U21 2 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 July 2020 (UTC)

Neal Maupay (French pronunciation: [nil mopɛ]; born 14 August 1996) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion. He came to prominence in his homeland with Nice, Saint-Étienne and Brest and was a France youth international. Maupay is also adept as an attacking midfielder or winger.

Club career

Nice

Maupay began his youth career at US Valbonne at age six in 2002,[3] before moving into the Nice academy in 2007.[4] He progressed through the ranks into the reserve team at the beginning of the 2012–13 season, scoring four goals in three early-season matches before receiving his maiden call into the first team squad on 15 September 2012,[5] for a Ligue 1 match versus Brest.[6] At age 16 years and 32 days,[7] Maupay made his professional debut as an injury-time substitute for Éric Bauthéac during the 3–2 win.[8] He was a regular inclusion in the first team squad from October 2012 through to March 2013 and signed a new two-and-a-half year contract in January 2013.[3][6] Maupay's season was ended by a torn cruciate ligament suffered during a reserve match on 14 April 2013.[5][9] Maupay made 19 appearances and scored four goals during the 2012–13 season and when making his Ligue 1 debut and scoring his first Ligue 1 goal,[6] he became the second-youngest player to achieve both feats.[10]

Despite his breakthrough into the first team squad during the 2012–13 season and after recovering from injury, Maupay was out of favour with manager Claude Puel during 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons,[11] which ultimately caused his departure in August 2015.[12] He made 53 appearances and scored 9 goals during three seasons as a first team player at the Allianz Riviera.[5]

Saint-Étienne

On 10 August 2015, Maupay transferred to Ligue 1 club Saint-Étienne on a four-year contract for a €500,000 fee.[12] Despite making 23 appearances and scoring three goals during the 2015–16 season, he departed on loan for the duration of 2016–17 and left the club in July 2017.[13][14]

Brest (loan)

On 20 July 2016, Maupay joined Ligue 2 club Brest on a season-long loan.[13] He had a good start to the 2016–17 season, scoring 10 goals in his opening 21 matches,[15] winning the August 2016 UNFP Ligue 2 Player of the Month award and receiving nominations in September,[16] October and December.[17][18][19] Injuries in December 2016 and February 2017 disrupted Maupay's good form and he finished the season with 12 goals in 31 appearances.[5][15][20]

Brentford

On 14 July 2017, Maupay moved to England to join Championship club Brentford on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee,[14] reported to be £1.6 million.[21] The club's France scout Brendan MacFarlane, who would also go on to identify Saïd Benrahma, Julian Jeanvier and Bryan Mbeumo, played a key role in the identification of the player as a target.[22] He was deployed as a forward and scored three goals in his opening six appearances for the club,[23] with his first goal coming in a 4–3 defeat to Nottingham Forest on 12 August 2017.[24] By mid-December, Maupay was considered the best "super-sub" of 2017–18 Championship season so far, with four of his five league goals having been scored during substitute appearances.[25] He broke into the starting lineup during the protracted transfer of first choice forward Lasse Vibe away from Griffin Park in January 2018 and he assumed the role full time after Vibe's departure early the following month.[26][27] Maupay showed improved goalscoring form between mid-January and mid-April, with a run of seven goals in 15 matches.[24] He finished the 2017–18 season with 46 appearances and as the club's top-scorer, with 13 goals.[24][28]

Maupay had an excellent start to the 2018–19 season and scored 13 goals in his first 17 league appearances.[29] Five goals in August 2018 and four in September led to nominations for the August PFA Fans' Championship Player of the Month and the September EFL Championship Player of the Month awards respectively.[30][31] 18 goals in 30 appearances by the end of January 2019 saw Maupay win the EFL Player of the Year award at the 2019 London Football Awards.[29][32] He finished a mid-table season with 28 goals in 49 appearances and was voted the Brentford's Supporters' and Players' Player of the Year.[29][33][34]

Brighton & Hove Albion

2019–20: First season at The Albion

On 5 August 2019, Maupay moved to Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion on undisclosed terms,[35] for a fee reported to be in the region of £20 million on a four-year deal.[36] Maupay scored on his debut in the opening match of the 2019–20 season, scoring the third for The Seagulls in a 3–0 away win over Watford.[37] On 14 September, Maupay opened the scoreline in a eventual 1–1 draw against Burnley, claiming his first home goal for the Sussex club.[38] Maupay scored his 10th goal of the season in a 1–1 away draw against Southampton on 16 July 2020, helping Brighton earn an important point towards safety.[39]

International career

Maupay playing for France U19 in 2015

Maupay is eligible to play for the France or Argentina national teams.[40] He won 35 caps and scored 16 goals for France at U16, U17, U19 and U21 level.[41] He was a member of France's 2015 UEFA European U19 Championship squad and made two appearances in the tournament.[41]

Style of play

Maupay's footballing idol is Zinedine Zidane.[40] He stated that he "can play out wide or as a number 10, but my favoured position is striker. I like to play down the middle and use my pace to get in behind defences" and "I’m used to looking after the ball and holding off defenders".[42]

Personal life

Maupay was born in Versailles and moved to the Côte d'Azur with his family at age five.[3] He is of Argentinian descent on his mother's side.[40]

Career statistics

As of end of 2019–20 season
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Nice 2012–13[5] Ligue 1 15 3 2 1 2 0 — 19 4
2013–14[5] 16 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 19 3
2014–15[5] 13 1 1 0 1 1 — 15 2
Total 44 6 5 2 4 1 0 0 53 9
Nice II 2012–13[5] CFA 2 Group E 8 7 — — — 8 7
2013–14[5] CFA Group C 4 2 — — — 4 2
2014–15[5] 1 0 — — — 1 0
Total 13 9 — — — 13 9
Saint-Étienne 2015–16[5] Ligue 1 15 1 4 2 1 0 3[a] 0 23 3
Saint-Étienne II 2015–16[5] CFA Group E 6 2 — — — 6 2
Brest (loan) 2016–17[5] Ligue 2 28 11 1 1 2 0 — 31 12
Brentford 2017–18[24] Championship 42 12 1 0 3 1 — 46 13
2018–19[29] 43 25 4 3 2 0 — 49 28
Total 85 37 5 3 5 1 — 95 41
Brighton & Hove Albion 2019–20 Premier League 37 10 1 0 0 0 — 38 10
Career total 219 63 16 8 12 2 3 0 250 73
  1. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 retained lists". Premier League. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Neal Maupay: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Prospect: Neal Maupay | Get French Football News". www.getfootballnewsfrance.com. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  4. ^ "Sky Sports Scout – Neal Maupay". Sky Sports. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Neal Maupay at Soccerway. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  6. ^ a b c "Neal Maupay Player Profile – ESPN FC". www.espnfc.com. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  7. ^ "Maupay dans le groupe face à Brest". Ouest-France (in French). 14 September 2012. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  8. ^ "Nice v. Brest Match Report". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). 15 September 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  9. ^ "Soccer-Nice striker Maupay out for rest of the season". Reuters. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  10. ^ FIFA.com (19 December 2012). "Predators, a prodigy and global glory". FIFA.com. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  11. ^ Le Lay, Maxime (7 October 2018). "Football. Neal Maupay : " J'ai vraiment adoré mon passage à Brest "". Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Ligue1.com – Bahebeck, Maupay bolster Sainté attack". www.ligue1.com. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  13. ^ a b "Saint-Etienne prête Neal Maupay à Brest". L'Equipe (in French). 20 July 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  14. ^ a b "Neal Maupay joins from Saint-Etienne". Brentford FC. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  15. ^ a b "Neal Maupay Player Profile – ESPN FC". www.espnfc.com. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  16. ^ a b "nomine-trophee 1222 – Trophées UNFP". Trophées UNFP (in French). Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  17. ^ "nomine-trophee 1677 – Trophées UNFP". Trophées UNFP (in French). Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  18. ^ "nomine-trophee 4818 – Trophées UNFP". Trophées UNFP (in French). Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  19. ^ "nomine-trophee 9631 – Trophées UNFP". Trophées UNFP (in French). Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  20. ^ "Expert Column – Preview – Football – The Hong Kong Jockey Club". football.hkjc.com. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  21. ^ Thomas, Lyall (14 July 2017). "Brentford sign striker Neal Maupay from Saint-Etienne". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  22. ^ https://www.ecofoot.fr/interview-brendan-macfarlane-brentford-3289/
  23. ^ "Brentford FC Middlesbrough 2 Brentford 2". Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  24. ^ a b c d "Games played by Neal Maupay in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  25. ^ Dubas-Fisher, David (11 December 2017). "Neal Maupay is the Championship's top super-sub so far". getwestlondon. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  26. ^ "Neal Maupay Player Profile – ESPN FC". www.espnfc.com. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  27. ^ "Brentford FC "It's been a good day"". Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  28. ^ "Brentford FC Player Appearances | Past & Present | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  29. ^ a b c d "Games played by Neal Maupay in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  30. ^ "Hernandez wins August's PFA Bristol Street Motors Championship Fans' Player of the Month". www.thepfa.com. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  31. ^ "Neal Maupay beaten to Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month prize". Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  32. ^ a b "Neal Maupay named EFL Player of the Year at London Football Awards". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  33. ^ "Football Club History Database – Brentford". www.fchd.info. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  34. ^ a b c "Maupay takes the honours at Player of the Year Dinner". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  35. ^ "ALBION SIGN FRENCH STRIKER". www.brightonandhovealbion.com. 5 August 2019. Archived from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  36. ^ "Neal Maupay: Brighton sign Brentford forward for reported £20m". BBC Sport. 5 August 2019.
  37. ^ "Watford 0–3 Brighton: Neal Maupay scores on Seagulls debut - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 10 August 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  38. ^ "Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Burnley: Jeff Hendrick scores in stoppage time to earn visitors a point - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 14 September 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  39. ^ "Ings goal keeps Brighton waiting - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  40. ^ a b c "ASSE – EXCLU Zidane, Manchester United, Eysseric… Les confessions de Maupay". But! Football Club (in French). Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  41. ^ a b "Joueur – Neal MAUPAY – FFF". Fédération Française de Football (in French). Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  42. ^ "Brentford FC Neal Maupay ready for Griffin Park return". Retrieved 15 July 2017.
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