PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Cedric Bakambu - The DR Congo star had to be tugged by the ear

by Austin Ditlhobolo

Monday Mar 19, 2018. 16:00

Africa’s most expensive player, Bakambu was regularly tugged by the ear during his days as an academy player at French club Sochaux.

This is according to Sochaux youth coach Jean-Sebastien Merieux, who remembers Bakambu as a gifted player, who quickly found his feet in eastern France.

Bakambu joined Chinese Super League outfit Beijing Guoan on a long-term deal from Spanish side Villarreal last month.

The transfer fee paid was reported as €74 million which would constitute an African transfer record.
"To get him from the chateau [where Sochaux's youth-team players lived] to the school, he went at two kilometres per hour," Merieux told Bleacher Report.

"To get him from the chateau to the changing rooms, he went at two kilometres per hour. He himself admits that he can be a bit nonchalant. You often had to shake him.

"He already had great explosive qualities, but he almost went too fast for his technical abilities,” he added.

“So we had to do a lot of work, as with any young player, and we had to be a bit patient until he was able to ally his speed with his technical ability."

The DR Congo international opened his scoring account for Guoan as they beat Jiangsu Suning 2-1 in their first game of the 2018 Chinese Super League season almost over a week ago.