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News
Everton flop inspiring new club’s title charge as manager says he’s ‘truly an example’
An ‘example on and off the pitch’ is not really the description many Everton fans will give you when asked about a player who left the Premier League outfit in a deal worth just over £3 million.
Few men could boil blood or shake up controversy quite as expertly as Neal Maupay.
Whether it was the infamous spat between Maupayꦦ and 💎Tottenham’s James Maddison, using Tim Robbins’ escape from Shawshank R♚edemption as a metaphor for his Everton departure, or generally acting like something beginning with ‘s’ and ending in ‘house’, the former Brighton and Brentford striker become the posterboy for P🧔remier League irritants.
Furthermor🐻e, with just one goal in 29 top-flight games for Everton, it’s fair to say there were few Toffees fans disappointed to see him go.
Imagine a world in which Warden Samuel Norton was only too happy to see Andy Dufresne burrow his way through the t🅺unnels, and you get th𒅌e idea.
All of which makes the fact that Maupay is now an inspirational figure in Mars♚eille’s ♎Ligue 1 charge all the more surprising.
Neal Maupay a Marseille ‘example’ after Everton exit
Maupay is even keeping £20 million Elye Wahi out of Ro🥂berto de Zerbi’s team. Something few saw coming when the former arrived, seemingly as a back-up to one of the hottest young prospects in𝔉 French football.
As Wahi again started on the bench, Maupay was front and centre – quite literally, given his number nineﷺ role – as Marseille reduced the🎉 gap between themselves and Luis Enrique’s stuttering Paris Saint-Germain side to just five points.
Maupay appears to be ไadding another string to his boℱw in France, too.
In 160 Premier League games for Briﷺghton and Everton, he assist𒁏ed only ten goals. In just 12 Marseille appearances, he already has four.
In fact, all four of 🅠those have come in the last three games. After helping Marseille to a comeback win over fellow challengers Monaco the previous weekend, Maupay flicked the ball around the corner for Adrien Rabiot to open his L’OM account in Sunday’s 2-✃0 win at St Etienne.
Only Joao Neves – PSG’s £60 million marquee acquisition from Benꦏfica – has set up more Ligue 1 goals in 2024/25💙.
“Neal Maupay is truly an example, on and off the pitch,” De Zerbi said after that St Etienne victory, Mason Greenwood securing the points wit🐓h a late penalty.
“He has a𝔍 lot of qualities. He is someone who puts a lot of aggression into his game. He is different from Elye Wahi.
“Wahi is just as important a player [butꦡ], at the moment, it is true that Neal Maupay is fu﷽ndamental for us.”
Maupay continues trend of former Everton men flying elsewhere
It is becoming a running theme at Goodison Park. Maupay is far from the first player to leave Everton, only to find a far happier li﷽fe away from the energy-sapping surrounds of Shawshank.
Ben Godfrey is part of an Atalanta team chasing their first ever Seri✤e A title.
Moise K⛄ean is challeꦏnging for the Golden Boot with Fiorentina. Anthony Gordon has ꧒played Champions🌟 League football with Newcastle United.
But, even by Everton’s standards, the ꦍsight of Neal Maupay dragging Marseille to a Ligue 1 title would make for particularly poisonous 🍃viewing.
