He doesn’t do things the easy way, Gaetan Laborde.
So, when the ball bounced loose inside the penalty area during Rennes’ UEFA Conference League clash with Vitesse Arnhem on Thursday night, the summer signing from Montpellier was never likely to just roll it into an empty net.
That’s not how Laborde does things.
Instead, the free-scoring French thespian opened up his body and clipped the most precise and nonchalant of finishes into the top corner. If we didn’t know better, we’d assume there were ice cubs forming in Laborde’s bloodstream, so cool is he in front of goal.
A prolific Ligue 1 marksman for a number of years with Montpellier, the late-blooming Laborde spent much of January to July being linked with a move to West Ham United.
According to L’Equipe, the Hammers even submitted a bid in the region of £11 million just before selling Sebastien Haller to Ajax 10 months ago.
After that failed, they were rumoured to be readying another offer in the summer window. Whether one ever arrived, however, remains a mystery.
But after hitting 13 goals in his first 19 games in a Rennes’ shirt – three of those coming in a hat-trick performance against Vitesse at Roazhon Park – coach Bruno Genesio is just glad that Laborde is patrolling the penalty area in Brittany rather than Britain.
Did West Ham miss out on Gaetan Laborde?
“Laborde, he is amazing,” beamed Genesio on Thursday night, speaking to Made In Foot. “He is rewarded (for his efforts).
“It is not so common to score a treble in a European Cup.”
“(I came to Rennes) to live a great adventure,” Laborde adds, speaking to Ouest France.
“The European Cup can be a great adventure with the club and the supporters. I came here for that. For now, we are on the right track.
“Personally, it’s important to score in all matches.”
Comparisons are already starting to be made between Laborde and Rennes legend Alexander Frei.
If the former can emulate the latter and become Ligue 1’s top scorer while wearing Rouge et Noir, then Laborde may soon be sitting on the right hand of Frei in the pantheon of Roazhon Park greats.
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