Dubbed in Italy, excellent on penalties... Who is Mike Maignan, designated heir to Hugo Lloris?

Romain Rouillard 20:00 pm, March 15, 2023

He had been knocking on the door insistently for several months, ready to shake up a hierarchy that seemed intangible. But this time, his time has finally come. At 27, Mike Maignan will become the new starting goalkeeper of the France team, succeeding captain Hugo Lloris. By ending his international career on January 9, the most capped player in the history of Les Bleus (145 caps) opens a royal road to the AC Milan goalkeeper who has gradually established himself as a reference in his position in Europe. And who should, in all likelihood, play the two qualifying matches for Euro 2024 against the Netherlands, on March 25 and Ireland on March 28. Coach Didier Deschamps will announce his list on Thursday.

PSG never gave him a chance

A new status in blue that Mike Maignan owes to his top-notch performances in the jersey of AC Milan. But before splashing Italy with his talent, the native of Cayenne in Guyana could have benefited Paris Saint-Germain fans. Like Christopher Nkunku, Kingsley Coman and Moussa Diaby, Maignan attended the Paris training centre until the age of 14. And just like them, it is far from the Parc des Princes that the last tricolor rampart has made a name. In Lille, more precisely.

In the North, Mike Maignan settled in goal during the 2017-2018 season and will need only one year of running-in to become number 1 at his position in the France championship. At the end of the 2018-2019 season, he was elected best goalkeeper in Ligue 1 at the UNFP trophy ceremony.

Mike Maignan receives the trophy for best goalkeeper in Ligue 1 from comedian Issa Doumbia
AFP/Franck Fife

Enough to catch the eye of Didier Deschamps, who summoned him for the first time in May 2019 for a friendly match against Bolivia. In the coach's mind, Maignan was only the third option at the goalkeeper position behind the unstoppable Hugo Lloris and his eternal understudy, Steve Mandanda.

Voted best goalkeeper in Ligue 1... then Series A

At this moment, Mike Maignan leaves quite far in the race for the position of holder in blue but his increasingly successful performances in club will gradually change his status. Two years later, in 2021, he is one of the essential cogs of Christophe Galtier's LOSC, crowned champion of France to everyone's surprise in front of PSG.

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Transferred in the wake to AC Milan, Maignan quickly puts Italy in the pocket. "Mike motivates his teammates, makes himself heard on set pieces and tries to turn on the lights where it sometimes gets dark. He has the qualities to grow further - the coach and the managers are convinced - and enough personality to assert himself as a leader, even if he has just arrived, "wrote Marco Fallisi, journalist for the Gazzetta dello Sport on the evening of a Milan defeat against Liverpool (3-2). Champion of Italy a few months later with the Rossoneri, the French goalkeeper also won the trophy of best goalkeeper of the Serie A championship, posting an average of 79.4% of shots stopped. No goalkeeper did better last season in Europe.

Very attentive to his brilliant evolution, the staff of the France team gradually inducted him number 2 in the hierarchy. But the starting goalkeeper spot remains promised to Hugo Lloris, despite slightly declining performances. Deprived of the 2022 World Cup due to injury, Mike Maignan has made a thunderous return to competition, like his sumptuous and decisive parade on the lawn of Tottenham in the Champions League last week.

[ LIVE] #UCL - 1/8 final second leg
Mike Maignan saves Milan after extra time !!!
What a parade against Harry Kane!https://t.co/IalCMrrtCh

— beIN SPORTS (@beinsports_FR) March 8, 2023

A very rich technical palette

Decisive in key moments, endowed with incredible reflexes, sovereign in the aerial game, the Guyanese is obvious to take over from Hugo Lloris from whom he is distinguished by an even more extensive technical palette. Very comfortable in the footwork, Mike Maignan also excels in the exercise of penalties. Two registers in which Hugo Lloris has always experienced more difficulties, especially in the final of the last World Cup where he had not repelled the slightest Argentine attempt. Since the beginning of his career, Maignan has posted an excellent 29% success rate against opposing shooters. He even defeated former Rennes striker Paul-Georges Ntep in 2015 when he was playing his very first Ligue 1 match.

This Thursday, Mike Maignan's career should take on a new dimension. And the blue jersey he should put on Friday, March 25 against the Netherlands should logically weigh more than that of his first five caps. But in an interview with L'Équipe just after his retirement, Hugo Lloris assures him: "Magic Mike" is "ready" to assume his new status.