This Wednesday, late afternoon, Olympique de Marseille announced on its twitter account the arrival of Pape Gueye for a 4-year contract. “I am an Olympian! “Proudly announced the 21-year-old former midfielder from Le Havre in a short 45-second video. This is the first reinforcement of the Marseille club in this summer transfer window, after the exercise of the purchase option for the Spanish defender Alvaro Gonzalez. But all is undoubtedly not so simple for the ex-player of the team of France in the category U19 which is in the middle of a mess.
Free of any contract at the end of this 2019-2020 season, the native of Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis) had in fact signed in January a 5-year pre-contract with the Premier League club of Watford, located in the North Suburbs – West London, which was formalized on April 29. This is what is problematic today.
Arrived in Normandy in 2012 at the age of 13, Pape Gueye followed all his training within the club of Le Havre. After playing mainly in reserve (N3) in 2018-2019, first team coach Paul Le Guen made him one of his managerial players this season (25 games). He even wore the captain’s armband five times.
“He is a player who exudes a lot of power and has a technical serenity above the average compared to the L2, judge François Rodrigues, the director of the training center of Le Havre. With a large volume of play, Pape is able to make enormous efforts while constantly looking for the effective pass. He also has a very good sense of placement and a high quality in recovery. “
The player tries to cancel his visit to Watford
During this second part of the 2020-2021 season, the qualities of Le Havres are therefore obvious to many agents who get closer to those around him by making higher salary promises if he signs in Rennes, Bordeaux or Angers. Pope then no longer wants to go to Watford. He himself denounces an error with the regulations by having made a medical examination out of time. Pope Gueye and his entourage then hired the services of a lawyer who spoke of possible irregularities in the recruitment process of the English club.
OM then rushes into the breach and offers a 4-year contract in the midfield. But, before seeing the ex-Havres tread the Vélodrome stadium, Marseille and Watford will have to settle the dispute. “Watford will not be long in reacting and OM will have to negotiate with the English club, assures someone close to the matter. Other twists are to be expected. “
Before breaking into Le Havre, the Néo-Marseillais started soccer in … the Paris region. He lived in the Tilleuls neighborhood in Blanc-Mesnil (Seine-Saint-Denis). At 6, he signed to the local club like Raphaël Guerreiro, the left side of Dortmund, a few years earlier. At the time, Pope evolves to the position of attacking midfielder. Gifted, he joined the football studies section as soon as he entered the 6th grade at Nelson-Mandela college. “I had pulled his ears more than once because he was nonchalant on the field, remembers Philippe Lemaître, one of his former coaches at Blanc-Mesnil. Pope had an extraordinary left foot and a good vision of the game. Humanly, he was a polite and correct kid. “
After climbing the ladder, the French international U19 (6 selections) should therefore continue to progress with the vice-champion of France and compete in the Champions League. “He is a boy who has not finished surprising,” says François Rodrigues.
