Gaëtan Laborde, the Montpellier striker.
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Pascal Guyot / AFP
Place at "Labordico" this Sunday at La Mosson with the match between Montpellier and Bordeaux on behalf of the 30th day of Ligue 1.
The seventh most decisive player in the championship, the former Bordeaux player Gaëtan Laborde is having the best season of his career with the MHSC.
Failing to attract the light, the 26-year-old Landes striker attracts clubs and should fly to other skies this summer.
“He will always prefer to go to the Mont-de-Marsan parties than to the trendiest Parisian nightclub at the moment, like any good self-respecting footballer.
In one sentence Christophe Hutteau summed up Gaëtan Laborde, his foal, perfectly.
A discreet foal, who does not like to attract light.
Very far from making the headlines of sports dailies every week like others.
Yet after 29 days of Ligue 1 this season, the Montpellier striker is quite simply the 7th most decisive player in the championship (nine goals and seven assists).
In front of him, there is only beautiful linen: Mbappé, Depay, Delort, Ben Yedder, Toko-Ekambi and Volland.
And behind also since the former Bordeaux player is doing better than Neymar, Di Maria, Bamba, Thauvin or even Payet for the moment.
Before returning to the Girondins, his training club, this Sunday at La Mosson (3 pm), the Landais therefore had the best season of his career: “It's a logical continuation.
It continues to progress, it is gaining momentum.
With maturity, he has gained a lot in consistency and it must be said that his lifestyle is impeccable.
He changed status by coming to the MHSC, he was no longer the youngster of the training center who plays a few pieces of a match, ”says the agent of one who has not missed a match since last August.
For Mickaël, one of his brothers, “Gaëtan performed well wherever he was trusted, including during his best season in Bordeaux (13 goals and five assists in 2016/2017) where he finished top scorer and best passer in the club.
When you trust him, he gives it back on the pitch ”.
Problem with the Marines and Whites, he rarely had it at the time.
This explains his departure three years ago.
Since then, the Hérault center forward has continued to flourish but in a certain anonymity.
So is he the most underrated striker in Ligue 1?
Like man, like player
It is difficult to answer the question point blank, even if of course "it is a certainty" for Christophe Hutteau.
This status, Gaëtan Laborde perhaps owes it to his personality.
Described as "someone humble, natural" by those close to him, the Landais is above all "a true football lover who does this job out of a passion for the game," recalls his agent.
Glitter, very little for him.
No question of chasing interviews, "he prefers to focus on his career and his family," explains those around him.
A man as simple as football produces less and less.
“He can get along with anyone and any district player can relate to him.
He is the father of three children, the first of which he had at 18.
He knows what life is like, he has a sense of responsibility and he knows how lucky he is to play football, ”says Mickaël who follows him very closely being captain of the Agde team in National 3 a few kilometers.
Delort-Laborde, the infernal duo of the MHSC.
- GERARD JULIEN / AFP
This personality is inevitably found in the game of Gaëtan Laborde.
If he is extremely fair and skilful on a pitch, he is not that “flashy” player that most supporters go into ecstasies at the first pass of the legs or at the slightest roulette wheel.
And besides, one of his great strengths is to know it, as Christophe Hutteau underlines it: "He is not the most gifted striker in the championship and he is perfectly aware of that, on the other hand find me a striker as consistent as him in recent seasons and who gives himself as much for his team.
Apart from Edinson Cavani and his teammate Andy Delort, the names don't stack up.
His partner at MHSC is perfectly aware of this: “Honestly, I am enjoying myself with him.
He's a great player, we're friends in life and we have the same mentality.
We are warriors, it is really a pleasure to play together.
"
Leaving to take a new step
Gaëtan Laborde is surely part of this category of players who prefer to deliver a magnificent assist than to score a ready goal.
His brother goes further on this subject: “He is in the field as in life.
He is generous, he does not cheat and he first thinks of the collective before thinking about his stats.
He'd rather win 1-0 having done a big defensive job than go 3-3 and score a hat-trick.
"If Mickaël" does not know if he is undercut ", on the other hand, he knows" that he is very appreciated in Montpellier, by the club and by the supporters.
The football community is aware of his qualities, as we have seen with the clubs that are interested in him.
“And this is the main thing for the 26-year-old Landais.
Bordeaux-Montpellier: Gaëtan Laborde specializes in assists and punishes his former club https://t.co/g4CA0tphru via @ 20minutesmont pic.twitter.com/2NEj6ThjHL
- 20MinutesMontpellier (@ 20minutesmont) November 8, 2020
Newspaper articles will wait but certainly not for the Premier League.
Christophe Hutteau readily admits that his player is at "a turning point in his career" because "his choice will determine a lot of things for the future and if he wants to take another step forward, he must leave".
A few hours and details, it could have been in West Ham this winter.
But this is only a postponement because everyone is on the same wavelength in Montpellier.
His future is now being played elsewhere, even "if he will never leave to leave", insists his brother.
For Gaëtan Laborde, two things will be essential: the sporting project and that the MHSC find its way financially.
He's like that, he'll be loyal until the end.
Its president, Laurent Nicollin hopes for “20, 25 or 30 million euros”, his agent estimates his price rather “between 15 and 20 million euros”.
Regardless, at this price, Gaëtan Laborde may finally make the headlines.
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Languedoc-Roussillon
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Girondins of Bordeaux
League 1
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