New Bournemouth striker Lys Mousset looks likely to be the next Le Havre product to set the Premier League alight, joining Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez and West Ham’s Dimitri Payet in England’s top league.
Bournemouth beat a host of clubs, including Spurs, Sevilla and Torino, to sign the 20-year-old striker over the summer for a fee reported to be in the region of £5 million.
Mousset starred for the Cherries in Warren Cummings’ testimonial match against AC Milan this weekend, scoring his side’s only goal with a superb individual effort.
He was a constant threat for the Milan defence, also coming close to equalising for his side when he hit the woodwork late on in the match.
Based on his performance this week, Mousset looks likely to make his competitive debut for Bournemouth next weekend against West Brom.
If he takes this form into the season, Mousset will be the next in line from the Le Havre academy to wow the Premier League.
Among last season’s Premier League superstars were two previously unheralded Les Ciel et Marine old boys, Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City) and Dimitri Payet (West Ham United) – while the most expensive player in the world, Paul Pogba, was a Le Havre player when Manchester United first signed him at the age of 16.
Mahrez in action for Leicester against Swansea
25-year-old Mahrez joined the club at the age of 19 and went on to represent Le Havre II and Le Havre over 100 times before making the move to Leicester City in 2014 for a fee in the region of £500,000.
Along with Jamie Vardy, Mahrez was Leicester’s attacking star last season during the Foxes’ surprise Premier League victory. The Algerian was crowned PFA Player of the Year, and he was the subject of intense transfer speculation this summer – his value having soared from £500,000 to over £30 million. Leicester were not interesting in selling.
29-year-old Payet joined Le Havre at the age of 12 and was with the club for four years before returning to his native Réunion. He joined West Ham from Marseille at the beginning of last season for £10.7 million.
Payet in training with the France national side
Payet announced himself on to the world scene as a world-class free-kick taker, and at the end of a season where he was nominated for PFA Player of the Year, he went on to shine for his country at Euro 2016, earning the Man of the Match award against both Romania and Albania.
Like Mahrez, Payet was under intense transfer scrutiny over the summer for a drastically increased value, with West Ham owner David Sullivan saying his star wasn’t available – even if the club were offered £100 million!
Bournemouth fans will be hoping Mousset manages to emulate his illustrious predecessors and go some way to starring for his new club and helping them to avoid relegation from the top flight.
Manchester United’s Paul Pogba spent his formative years at Le Havre
With the Le Havre youth programme continuing to harvest talented youngsters, it may only be a matter of time before the next Ciel et Marine starlet makes the short trip from Normany to the Premier League.
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