Finally putting down his boxes in his new apartment in Biarritz last weekend, Kylian Jaminet had to take a breather. “I had a bit of trouble finding it,” smiles the man who lived until now in Arbonne, for lack of anything better, or at least for lack of a roof closer to Aguilera. Final hiccups of a trip to Biarritz that was more than dented. Even if since then, the path he has carved out for himself, particularly with kicks, is much clearer.
Leaving his cocoon in Nevers, the native of Toulon had to imagine a less tortuous route. There, the Jaminets, Dylan the little brother and Kylian the oldest, are right at home, adored by the public and looked after by the three-quarter coach Guillaume Jan. “He’s a player that we educated, really supervised,” confirms his former manager Xavier Péméja who saw him blossom and grow.
But a cocoon that the eldest Jaminet chose to leave after five years of good and loyal service. “Kiki wanted to see something else, I totally understand,” expresses Dylan. A decision taken quite early, for a signing in November at the BO. With Jean-Baptiste Aldigé, therefore, before following the latter's desire to leave, the negotiations for the takeover of the club, and so on.
“I learned on the networks that the old management wanted to leave. With Clément Martinez, we wondered how it was going to go”
“It was very complicated. I got involved with the old management, then I learned on the networks that they wanted to leave, trace back. I was in contact with my agent who told me that he (Aldigé, Editor's note) often did that, that it happened to him… I experienced it from afar. I hardly knew anyone in Biarritz. We sent each other a few messages with Clément Martinez, with whom I played as a hopeful in Toulon. We wondered how it was going to go. »
Complicated summer
Such uncertainty that Xavier Péméja offers him to stay at the club if the situation does not resolve itself. Before the delivery and recovery by Shaun Hegarty and his team, at the end of May, almost on the gong. Then a new hard blow for “Kiki” and the entire Jaminet family. On July 7, his other brother, Melvyn, then on summer tour with the XV of France, accidentally published a video on Instagram in which he made racist remarks. The scandal is national, with dramatic fallout for the brothers and their parents.
“The summer was very complicated. We received a lot of threats, from my father, my mother, my little brother and myself. I had to take off the networks for a good month. I was also obviously afraid of my brother… The most important thing is that he didn't have any problems. He realized his stupidity, he is serving his sanction, but things are much better. »
Better for Melvyn, but also for Kylian. His start to the season is there to confirm it. With 480 minutes played, 6 starts – 7 including this Friday – “Kiki” has established himself as one of the centerpieces of Boris Bouhraoua's system at the start of the season. “His quality of kicking and length play no longer needs to be proven. He also has talent in the air or on his offensive choices, appreciates the BO manager. You have to be careful not to be dependent on one player. But it’s certain that when he’s with us, it’s better. »
Same story with his former coach Xavier Péméja, who was also able to follow the development before the finished product: “He had a kicking game which was powerful, but which was not at all precise. The number of keys he couldn't find… I was going crazy! Little by little, with his work, he kept his power and acquired precision. He masters everything, he is a very good player under the ball, he has a good reading of space and power. It really is a complete rear. »
« Jaminetico »
Only one regret for Péméja: that Kylian Jaminet did not attract Top 14 teams after his excellent 2022-2023 season, when Nevers went as far as the Pro D2 play-offs. So much the better for Biarritz, too bad for the elite and the possible reunion with Melvyn, who leads in points in their confrontations when he played in Perpignan (two victories to zero).
So much the better for another “Jaminetico”, with the youngest, Dylan (22 years old), who hatched in Nièvre in 15, the position left vacant by the big brother. “It's always nice to see your brother again, to play against, even if I would have preferred to play with, but that's how it is. There will be a little emotion, so that's cool. » Another way, much happier, to get the Jaminets talking.
Before housewarming in his new home? “Given the artists we have on the team, it’s better to go to the bars!” » It would indeed be a shame to damage it now that it is finally and so well installed.
