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. 

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.

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.

“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.” 

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.”