Meeting Neal Maupay for the first time, it doesn’t take long to establish who he really is – someone who Evertonians are sure to take to very quickly.
Neal Maupay said: “When I spoke to Everton and I knew there was an interest, I straight away knew it was a massive opportunity. As a player you should be proud to play for a club like that, so for me it was pretty simple and straightforward. If Everton wants me and they think I can help them, I’m in. I’m going. In football it takes time, sometimes there is talk and then during the transfer window the club has to deal with the players they want to sell, they have to buy players in – it takes time. There were talks, but in the end for me I know the transfer window here is two months or whatever, and it can happen at the start or at the end. In England it’s always towards the end that everyone starts to move a bit, so I was just getting ready. When everything was good I just came up. It wasn’t a last-minute decision. Maybe I didn’t play because they knew I was leaving as well. I wasn’t desperate to leave but when you have a challenge like Everton, just to play for this club really and help the club to be back on track, for me it was a great challenge. I am someone who needs challenges. You know I can get bored pretty quickly and after three seasons, I feel like I have given everything I had and maybe I needed something new, like to have a fresh start. That is how I work and how I am. For me I knew over the last month it would be better for me to find a new challenge. Obviously when I could sign for Everton, it was the best move.”
Maupay made his debut in the Merseyside derby earlier this month and instantly impressed fans and teammates with his work rate. In fact, Alex Iwobi in a recent interview claimed that he’d never seen a striker run so much in a match. Evertonians are a demanding group in that sense, desperate for their players to show exactly how much they care for the shirt each time they pull it on. Without even a hint of hesitation, in fact even before the question was finished, the summer signing confirmed what Blues supporters wanted to hear.
Neal Maupay added: “100%, that is what Everton fans can expect from me. I put a shift every time I am on the pitch. I understand the weight of the shirt and how much you have got to fight for it. I did the same at Brighton and before that. That is who I am, when I do something, I do it 100%. Yeah I run a lot but I will score goals, I will give assists, I will fight, do anything I can to help the team. You know I think for me, I have realised a few years ago that sometimes I was very frustrated when I wasn’t scoring and I could think about it for days and weeks and that would affect my next game. Then I realised if you give everything and when I go home if I can look in the mirror and I can tell myself ‘you have given your best today’. Of course you could always do better with a certain pass or shot but if you have given everything you had, you can’t ask for too much. As long as you give your best. Of course you want to improve but I would be very frustrated if I went home and thought I could have run more, or pressed a defender more, or run in behind or tackled more. On the pitch I give everything to have no regret. The coach welcome [before Liverpool] I think was the best I’ve ever had really. I’ve never seen that before. It was just great. I knew about it, but when you actually see how much it means to the fans and to all the people who support Everton…I wouldn’t say it gives me extra motivation because I give my best regardless. But I think sometimes if you’re tired, if you’re struggling in a game, then you think about these people who love the club and would give everything to be on that pitch to play. So you’ve got to fight, you’ve got to give everything, so it was great.”
Everton are still searching for their first Premier League victory of the campaign while Brighton, the club Maupay left in the summer, enjoyed a strong start before the departure of Graham Potter to join Chelsea. Despite the relative form of the two sides, however, the 26-year-old knows that he has made a step up this summer. He uses his former club as an interesting example to link Frank Lampard’s time with the Blues to, knowing that it will take time for the manager’s system to be fully integrated – but having every confidence he can help that process along.
Neal Maupay said: “It’s definitely a step up. Everton is one of the biggest clubs in England. At the minute, we’re not getting the results that we want – but I always say that football goes quick. Everyone is praising Graham Potter for what he did at Brighton. Last season we finished ninth. But the season before that we finished 16th and we were only safe about three games before the end of the season. So football changes. Just because we were struggling yesterday doesn’t mean that tomorrow won’t be good. I truly believe that. We’ve got everything at this club – the fans, the structure, the manager and the players. I’ve been in that process at Brighton where we had a new manager and new players. We had two tough seasons. The third one was the good one. To build a team takes time. Last season, Lampard came in and had to save the club. Now is the time for him to work on a system and how we want to play. We haven’t had any wins yet this season, but when I look at the games I see a lot of positives. At Brentford, we were winning, it was the same at Leeds, and we drew with Liverpool. I think it’s only a matter of time before we turn these draws into wins and the losses into draws.”
Undoubtedly there will be no more determined player against West Ham to see Everton towards victory than Maupay, even if the trademark smile might only be on display after a goal on Sunday.
