Every Sunday morning, Foot Mercato introduces you to a young talent to watch very closely. Today, we are heading to the Netherlands to meet Mehdi Lehaire. Born in 2000, this attacking midfielder, who played for LOSC, is beginning to make his mark on FC Utrecht.
Édouard Duplan, Sébastien Haller, Jean-Christophe Bahebeck, Nicolas Gavory… FC Utrecht likes to rely on the talents trained in France when it comes to doing its market. This summer, the Dutch club once again welcomed a young hopeful from France: Mehdi Lehaire. Born in 2000, this attacking midfielder started out in Lille, as he told Foot Mercato. “I played a little futsal in a club in my city, then I went to the LOSC at the age of 7, I stayed there for 7 years, until I was 14,” he said. But it was in Belgium that the adventure really began for him.
“I then went to the Jean-Marc Guillou Academy in Belgium. It went very well. I had signed for five years. There was a partnership with Lierse. From the age of 16, the best elements of the academy could join the Lierse reserve. That’s what happened to me,” he explained. At only 17 years old, he even took his first steps as a pro, taking his place on the bench, then having his chance on the field. “I played against Standard (in May 2017) and Kortrijk (in April 2018) in the play-offs and made some benches against Mouscron, OHL,” he recalled. Unfortunately, the Belgian adventure ends there.
Successful beginnings in the Netherlands
“Lierse has been demoted administratively. I found myself free. I could stay in Belgium, where Zulte-Waregem was interested, go to Italy or go to Utrecht. I did a three-day internship in the Netherlands. It went very well. And I was interested in the project. So I opted for Utrecht,” he said. A new adventure well underway. “Everything is going very well. I play with the U23 team (5 appearances), which plays in the Dutch D2, against Twente, Sparta Rotterdam, etc. We play against men, we defend a lot, but we’re fine. I’ve done some training and friendly matches with the pros (he even scored against AZ at the end of October, 2-0). As I was born in 2000, I can also help the U19 (4 games, 1 goal). Adaptation is going well,” he summarized.
This is enough to generate beautiful and legitimate ambitions. “I signed two years plus one as an option. The goal is to go as fast as possible with the first one, to start in Eredivisie as soon as possible. The exchanges with the professional staff are going well. If I continue to work properly, I could start earlier than expected. There is Urby Emanuelson or Oussama Tannane in the first team. There is also Nicolas Gavory who arrived this summer from Clermont, it’s nice for the adaptation. In the short term, I want to join the first team as soon as possible,” he launched, aiming “in the medium/long term for a major European championship” and “why not League 1”.
source www.footmercato.fr
