Called up for the first time in the French team, After the trip to Nice, Lucas Chevalier will join a Blues group known by Mike Maignan since 2019. The second was the model of the first and the two former Lille players remained very close, making LOSC proud.
Lucas Chevalier and Mike Maignan reunited again
And Lucas Chevalier has not yet taken the time to respond to all his countless messages after his first call-up with the Blues, the future French international made an exception for Mike Maignan. « We exchanged two or three messages », smiles the Lille goalkeeper, who will find his mentor with the Blues three years later. During this historic 2020/2021 season for LOSC, French champions, Chevalier is number 3 and learns in the shadow of Maignan, the indisputable holder who takes him under his wing and with whom a relationship of trust is formed.
« The story is beautifulrejoices, smile on his lips, Lucas Chevalier. I think that if we had said that we would have found ourselves in the French team so quickly, people would have thought we were crazy. We had this deep conviction that it was achievable.. We will have to photograph this moment well in our heads. » Enough to make an entire club proud. “ It's beautiful for me – and for him too, I think it will please him -, but also for the Lille supportersrecalls the current LOSC goalkeeper, whom Mike Maignan left in the summer of 2021 to sign for AC Milan. In training, there will be Mike the former Lille player, and me the current Lille player. We were together, that's going to do something. I am very proud. But we remain professionals, we will do our job. »
And if he will find a role of “simple” number 3 with the Blues, Lucas Chevalier knows this exposed status, especially when you are a newcomer. “ You have to take it without pressure and with the desire to learncalmly poses the native of Calais. The door is open to me, I am delighted. The fact of having Mike and other players that I know a little in the group means that I do not arrive in total unknown. I know that I can hold on to certain knowledge, it's always better to integrate. You really have to take it without pressure, have fun, discover the effect it has, the castle, the increased media coverage. I will try to arrive as natural as possible, even if it will not be easy because we are not robots. We're going to try to enjoy it as much as possible. » Seeing him talk for about twenty minutes 24 hours after Didier Deschampions' call, we have little doubt on this point.
Bruno Genesio on the call-up to the French team: “I was not surprised, but rather proud to have a player from the squad selected for the France team. It is also a reward for him, for all the people who participated in his training, for Nicolas Dehon (goalkeeper coach) who takes care of him and also had his share of responsibility for his progress. It reflects on the whole team. I often say that all individual awards, whether they are trophies or national team selections, highlight the work of the team and the collective. This is what makes us proud. I'm very happy because he's a boy who deserves, who works and who brought us a lot of points. I told him to just be himself when he gets there. »
Source: LOSC
Photo credits: Baptiste Fernandez/Icon Sport
