Saint-Malo defender joins Premier League team for £4.5m

Monday 16 July 2018

Premier League team Fulham have just signed a new player, and he’s from rather close to home - just over 40 miles away, in fact.

Saint-Malo native Maxime Le Marchand (28) was signed last week.

Announced with the hashtag #MaximeArrivé, Fulham announced the signing of Saint-Malo native Maxime Le Marchand (28) last week.

The defender was nabbed from Nice – a team for which he’d made 81 appearances over three seasons – for £4.5million. 

day.
sessions.

: https://t.co/FGQjRKfnUQ#SERIous #MaxArrivé pic.twitter.com/wJ6eEFYBUo

— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) July 12, 2018

Since joining the team, he has already made his debut in a pre-season friendly against former Championship rivals Reading, drawing 0-0.

Le Marchand was born in the popular Jersey tourist destination, Saint-Malo. It was there he started his football career with the local club, before joining the prestigious youth academy Stade Rennais FC – the former training ground of Ousmane Dembele, who just won the World Cup with France – in 2000.

 #MaxArrivé pic.twitter.com/y43mMGlddl

— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) July 12, 2018

Le Havre was his first professional contract, which he signed on a three-year deal. He went on to become captain of the team, having racked up 173 appearances. Then in 2015, he joined Ligue 1 club Nice, where he became known for his versatile defending skills, able to operate in middle and left-back positions.

He joined Fulham at the same time as fellow Frenchman and Nice teammate Jean Michaël Seri.

Time to hear from the boys!

Mika and Max discuss joining #FFC, what they make of each other, and the @premierleague https://t.co/z5Htu3XqDw#SERIous #MaxArrivé pic.twitter.com/uQNLr01IGY

— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) July 13, 2018

“I’m very happy to sign for Fulham, this is a big club that’s very popular,” Le Marchand commented.

“I’m also happy to have joined up with a good friend, Jean Michaël Seri. I know that there is a lot of hard work ahead and I hope to bring my very best to this team.” 

 “I’m also happy to have joined up with a good friend, Jean Michaël Seri. I know that there is a lot of hard work ahead and I hope to bring my very best to this team.” - Maxime Le Marchand #FFC #MaxArrivé pic.twitter.com/7VB8LwqO2a

— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) July 12, 2018

Fulham’s Vice Chairman and Director of Football Operations, Tony Khan, said that he was “very pleased” about the transfer deal. 

“Strengthening our squad is always a priority. In that spirit, we've done a lot of work on Maxime and believe that his skills and versatility will be valuable assets.”