Every professional footballer is talented, that’s a fact.
If that weren’t the case, everybody would be able to do what fans pay hundreds (or thousands) of pounds a year to go see, and football wouldn’t be what it is today.
Of course, some players are blessed with far more talent than others, yet it’s what they do with that gift that will decide how their professional career pans out.
For Neeskens Kebano, Fulham’s summer signing from KRC Genk, it might have taken a bit longer than expected, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo international is finally getting recognised on a wider platform for his ability with the ball in his feet.
A product of the Paris Saint-Germain youth academy, which he joined from ASA Montereau at the age of 14, the now 25-year-old certainly looked like he was on the right track when he made his debut for the Ligue 1 champions at the age of 18, yet hope quickly turned into despair.
Making nine appearances in all competitions for PSG, even scoring a goal in a Coupe de France game against Le Mans, the youngster was shipped out to Caen on loan for the 2012-13 season, with the club hoping for further development, but things didn’t exactly go to plan.
Six starts, 15 appearances, one goal and one assist certainly wasn’t the output either side were expecting, with the player clearly not ready to leave his entire life in Paris behind and be loaned out.
However, that difficult time in the north of France was probably exactly what he needed
Rejecting offers from France and other clubs abroad, the Fulham forward decided to choose a club ‘that showed a lot of desire’ to bring him in, which is where he started his quest to make a name for himself in Europe.
Two years at Charleroi saw him play 72 games for the Belgian side, scoring 23 goals and assisting 14 times, as well as earning him a new contract in December 2014 that would keep him at the club until 2017.
That wasn’t to be, however, as KRC Genk, impressed by what the former Paris Saint-Germain starlet had shown, decided to spend around £3.5m on the young attacking midfielder in August 2015.
A year to the day, 46 games, nine goals and six assists later, and a move to England, albeit the Championship, presents itself, and the player jumped at the opportunity to join Fulham.
Playing in a far more broadcasted league, in stadiums filled with dedicated fans, and at a club determined to return to the Premier League after spending far too long in the second-tier, was too good to turn down, and a £3.8m move materialised.
Of course, like the vast majority of signings from abroad, a time to adapt was necessary.
Furthermore, Slavisa Jokanovic’s struggles to find the right team meant the 25-year-old dropped in and out of the squad, unable to have the impact required.
Then came the Africa Cup of Nations, a much dreaded competition for a lot of teams, as key players leave to represent their countries at an awkward time midway through the season.
For Kebano, however, this would be the perfect break needed to regain the confidence and stamina he had struggled to find during the first few months of the season at Craven Cottage, and he came back a changed man.
Returning to London reinvigorated, having scored for his country, the attacking midfielder has now become a decisive force at Fulham, scoring the winner against Wigan in a second-half cameo, as well as scoring and assisting in a 3-1 win against Preston North End.
With three goals and three assists in his last nine appearances, Kebano has picked up form at the perfect time for Slavisa Jokanovic, with Fulham just one point behind sixth placed Sheffield Wednesday.
As a chance at promotion to the Premier League becomes a more and more realistic goal, with the playoffs within touching distance, upcoming games against Derby, Norwich and Huddersfield have become even more important.
Having now shown he is now able to play the full 90 minutes, we could see Fulham turn more and more towards Kebano for inspiration over the coming weeks, as the Congo international continues his career’s resurrection.
And with Premier League clubs always keeping an eye on who performs in the playoffs, who knows what could happen if Fulham made it that far?
Having started his career with so much hype around him, the 25-year-old has now put all of that behind him.
Determined to make it to the top, the Fulham attacking midfielder just wants to make a name for himself, proving those who thought he was just hype and no substance wrong along the way.
