The Rebirth of Angers SCO: The Talent of Jean-Matteo Bahoya

At almost every club there is a young player, from the youth setup, who is a fan favourite almost before their debut. Someone, who they say should be given minutes in the team. They’ll tell you he’s the next best thing, having seen him for years it’s only a matter of time before making his impact. For supporters of Angers SCO in recent times this was Sofiane Boufal. It was then Nicolas Pépé who was followed by Rayan Aït-Nouri, who was then followed by Jean-Mattéo Bahoya.

Bahoya joined the Angers SCO academy a decade ago at a time when the infrastructure had just been rebuilt. Investing was one of the big steps the then president, Saïd Chabane, took early in his tenure. The vision being that the club can once again start developing youth talents at a quality and rate rarely seen in its century-long history.

Pépé and Aït-Nouri were examples of great teenage talent identification and development through the Angers system: Pépé signed at 18 from Poitiers FC, and Aït-Nouri signed at 15 from Paris FC. Bahoya, is someone different. He’s a talent who emerged directly from the plains of La Baumette, the Angers SCO complex and training centre. And just like Pépé and Aït-Nouri, his world-class potential has landed him a big-money move, with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt signing him for €8 million in the January transfer window.

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