Saturday December 23, Torino faces Udinese at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino in a match between the 10th in Serie A and the 17th which ultimately ends with a score of 1-1. A meeting in which Florian Thauvin takes part, replacing at kick-off and who enters for the last 13 minutes of the match. A habit now for the 2018 world champion, who is playing a third substitute match within a moribund team, which is flirting with the relegation zone.
But how did a player who has long been a Ligue 1 star and who was still an indisputable OM starter 2 and a half years ago get there? The fault is undoubtedly contested and questionable sporting choices. If he goes to Mexico to discover a new championship, it is above all for a very lucrative proposition. When he returned to Europe, he only had Udinese (then 7th in Serie A) to revive him since at that time, no French club opened their door to him despite intact ambition and clearly revised emoluments. downward, as he explained in an interview with Channel Football Club a few days ago. “I arrived at Udinese because there wasn’t a French club that reached out to me. I spoke with a president of L1 and I told him that the salary would not be a problem because I love football. »
A player aware that his image is damaged and who wants to prove that he is not finished
12 months later, Thauvin, who totaled 3 goals and 3 assists with a team only 17th in Serie A, lost his starting place, mainly due to the arrival of a new coach and the 3-way tactical plan. 5-2 poorly suited to the qualities of the 30-year-old French international striker. With no future in Friuli, the former OM star wants to leave and is aiming for a return to Ligue 1. According to our information, Thauvin is aware that his image is damaged and wants to prove to people that he is not finished and that he still has a lot to give in a Ligue 1 lacking spectacular players, which could only rejoice in benefiting from the talent of such a player when he is at 100%.
Physically fit, the Udinese player (who started 11 times in 17 matches played in all competitions) no longer has any discomfort in his ankle. He therefore wants to return to the fields of France and aims for nothing more and nothing less than a return to the French team. But to go where? As he mentioned on Canal+, the former Marseillais therefore did not make salary a priority. It has a particular game that cannot match all clubs. If the question of a return to OM is necessarily on the table and has been discussed internally in Marseille, the tactical plan of Gennaro Gattuso and the bloodless finances of the Marseille club are hardly currently favorable.
There are other possibilities. Other Ligue 1 clubs would match the qualities of the former Orange Vélodrome idol much more (86 goals and 51 assists in 259 matches with OM). Formations which evolve in a tactical pattern much more adapted to the qualities of a player whose experience and experience would necessarily benefit qualitatively balanced, but relatively young, teams. A club like Montpellier could prove relevant. Finally, if he misses the Ligue 1 train, he could turn to another championship. The very spectacular Bundesliga and its spaces could be an ideal playground for the French striker. An opportunity not to be overlooked for Florian Thauvin, only 30 years old, who was, let’s remember, one of the best Ligue 1 players in recent years…
