Ask most young French strikers who their idol growing up was, and you’ll normally get one of two answers: Zinedine Zidane (because, obviously) or Thierry Henry.
The former Arsenal striker’s ability to put the ball in the back of the net was near second to none, and the vast majority of quick, right-footed striker will have watched him countless times to pick up tips on how to improve their own game.
Nice’s Alassane Plea is no different, as he spoke to the Ligue 1 show a couple of weeks ago about his admiration for France’s all-time top scorer, describing one of his strikes, one Henry would’ve been proud of, scored in the last game of last season in a 3-2 win over Guingamp.
He said: “I picked the ball up out wide, I cut inside and I curled it, just like Thierry Henry, my idol. I like his style, the way he acts, he was my favourite player at Arsenal. When you look at what he did there, all the goals he scored and the legend he became, it makes you dream.”
The 23-year-old came back strongly from a very bad knee injury suffered halfway through last season, and has scored two goals in six league appearances so far.
Vaguely linked with a move to the Premier League over the summer, the youngster still has a long way to go if he is to come close to emulating his idol, but a solid season under his belt this time around could maybe get him a move to England.
It’d be a start, at least.
