Everton-linked Stephy Mavididi could offer Frank Lampard an intriguing transfer option when potentially reshaping his forward line. The Derby-born player, who celebrated his 24th birthday last week, is currently one of the Englishmen abroad, having been tempted to the continent in search of more regular playing opportunities away from the Premier League.
Having started in youth football with Southend United, Mavididi moved into Arsenal’s Academy set-up as a 13-year-old but left the Gunners in 2018 without making a senior appearance despite loan spells at Charlton Athletic (twice) and Preston North End. Spotted by Juventus legend Giorgio Chiellini’s brother Claudio, the Italian giants’ Under-23 team co-ordinator, the player made a sensational move to Piedmont back in 2018.
Although initially brought in for Juve’s B team, who play in Serie C, Mavididi was called up to make his first team debut in a 2-1 loss at SPAL in a Serie A game on April 13, 2019 and in doing so he became the first English player since David Platt in 1992 to represent them. A week later, he celebrated with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the senior squad members who had taken him under his wing, Mavididi said: "He tries to give English banter but it is not that good – he is a good guy, very down to earth", as Juventus secured an eighth consecutive Scudetto, only to then suffer personal tragedy.
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Recalling what happened, Mavididi told BBC Sport: “It was a weekend I will never forget and something I will treasure. Everyone was happy, celebrating. I even pranked Ronaldo.
“But that weekend was a one of mixed emotions. Afterwards I found out my dad had passed away. I went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows.
“I think my father watched my debut. It is important. That was one of his nice last memories of me.
“The club were great with me, they said to take as long as I needed. I went to London for two weeks with my family and missed two games, but we gave dad a good send off and that is the most important thing.”
Loaned out to Dijon the following season, Mavididi has subsequently established himself in first team football playing in France’s Ligue 1. Netting eight goals in 28 games, he caught the eye of their domestic rivals Montpellier who paid Juventus €6.3million to sign him permanently in June 2020 when football was only just coming out of its coronavirus-induced hiatus.
A report in the Express cites Fabrizio Romano as claiming that Everton have joined four other clubs (fellow Premier League trio West Ham United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton plus French side Olympique Marseille) as approaching Mavididi’s agent but with question marks over the future of both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison, he would seem a more natural alternative to the Brazilian. Netting eight goals in 31 matches during the 2021/22 season, only six of Mavididi’s appearances were as a centre-forward (including his last three) with the rest of his outings all coming on the left wing.
What might Mavididi, offer Lampard's Everton, who were linked with another left winger back in April in the shape of Romanian wonderkid Octavian Popescu? West Ham United’s Said Benrahma is deemed to be the Premier League player closest to him in style according to Comparisonator’s Similarity Comparison which records a match of 81% between the pair but after that it’s down to 58% with Leicester City’s Harvey Barnes.
While Mavididi possesses an eye for a goal, his numbers for the 2021/22 season when transferred to players in his possession already operating in the Premier League, showing him operating in a similar manner to Richarlison and Demarai Gray in some categories. When it comes to dribbling, Mavididi would rank sixth with 6.03 per 90 minutes which sandwiches him between Gray in fifth (6.14) and Richarlison in seventh (5.49).
For context, Newcastle United’s Allan Saint-Maximin (11.66) is way ahead in this category with Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha second (6.92) and Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling third (6.54). However, while Gray (third, 3.6) and Richarlison (fourth, 3.45) both move up the table when it comes to successful dribbles, Mavididi drops down to ninth with 2.79.
His numbers from France would get him in the top 10 in the Premier League for goals scored (0.36 per game) and shots on target (0.94), just behind Richarlison in seventh on 0.99. However, Mavididi’s passing figures are far less impressive with crossing his strongest suit in this respect with 0.45 per game putting him at number 18 but he’s down in the 20 or even 30-something placings when it comes to the other distribution categories.
- Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.
