“He came in and trained and the first day we saw him it was like he’d never kicked a ball.”
In recent weeks, the big League of Ireland story has been the signing of former Premier League player Lys Mousset by Bohemians.
The Frenchman once cost Sheffield United €10 million when he signed for Bournemouth back in 2019 and went on to score nine goals in 53 games for the English club.
At the time, the Blades had Ireland internationals John Egan, Enda Stevens, and David McGoldrick on the books.
Mousset’s career sadly went downhill, and after a couple of years out of the game, a trial at Bohs led to a contract for the 28-year-old.
And it was a certain Irishman who recommended the former France Under-21 player to Gypsies manager Alan Reynolds through a mutual friend.
John Egan, who played with Mousset for Sheffield United, vouched for the striker, saying he was a positive presence in the dressing room.
Bohs boss Alan Reynold revealed:
“John Egan mentioned it to somebody… When Lys came over and trained, he was raving about, he loved the Irish lads, Enda and John Egan and so on, and he was saying it was similar to his time at Sheffield United.
“That’s how he felt and he was happy to be here. That was his happiest time, I suppose, in his career.
“He came in and trained and the first day we saw him it was like he’d never kicked a ball.
“And when I had spoken to him on the phone I asked him ‘Are you fit?’ and he said he was some way fit.
” That to me meant that he was not that fit, but he came in and you could see the quality, but he was rusty.
“I think he’ll take time, but it will be great for the League if we can get him to a level.”
“He fell out of love with it. He must have had personal issues and things like that.
“Obviously, the contracts that he was on before to the contract he’s on now, there’s a massive difference but it’s not about money for him.
“He has to earn it, too. It’s not, ‘here you go’, it has to be incentivised for him to play well.
“That’s a big part of things with Lys. But, as I said, I’m not sure money is a big factor there. I’d say if things weren’t to work out here, he’d just head off back, you know.”
