'John Egan mentioned him to somebody': how a £10m striker ended up at Bohs
Lys Mousset turned 29 over the weekend but has been out of the game for over a year. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
John Egan was the catalyst to his former £10m Sheffield United teammate Lys Mousset making a sensational move to Bohemians.
Alan Reynolds has confirmed the former French U21 international will make his Gypsies debut in Sunday’s Dublin derby against Shamrock Rovers before an expected crowd of 30,000 at Lansdowne Road.
Waterford native Reynolds had been in the market for firepower – his desire to bring Jonathan Afolabi back to Dalymount rebuffed by Dutch club Cambuur – but he stumbled into the novel recruit of the League of Ireland off-season.
Mousset turned 29 over the weekend but has been out of the game for over a year since his latest stop-off at VfL Bochum ended sourly.
Last season’s eighth-placed finish for Bohemians could be blamed on an accumulation of substandard recruitment and the club won’t be burnt again by brokering a contract with Mousset based leaning heavily on appearances and milestone increments.
That deal was hatched after the former Blade delivered on trial in a couple of pre-season games against Drogheda United, Waterford and Athlone Town.
Irish international Egan last week endorsed the move on social media and it transpires the Corkman instigated the chain of events which led to Reynolds providing cover for fellow capture Colm Whelan.
”It all happened over a few days,” explained Reynolds. “Someone would have played with him somewhere along the line. John Egan mentioned it to somebody and we took it from there.
“When he came over and trained, he was raving about how he loved the Irish lads, Enda (Stevens) and John Egan and so on, and he was saying it was similar to his time at Sheffield United. That’s how he felt and was happy to be here. Then was his happiest time of his career.”
Fitness was the primary concern.
“When I had spoken to Lyn on the phone, I asked him ‘Are you fit?’ and he said he was some way fit,” he added.
“That to me meant that he was not that fit, ‘who are you training with?’ but he came in and you could see the quality, but he was rusty. The first day we saw him it was like he’d never kicked a ball.
“He’s looking for a chance, that’s how it came about. He fell out of love with it. He must have had personal issues and things like that.
“He’s on peanuts compared to previous contracts but it’s not about money for him. It’s just to see if he can get back enjoying it and playing and he seems to be happy.
“He must earn it too. It’s not like ‘here you go’. It has to be incentivised for him to play well. That’s a big part of things with Lys.
“I’d say if things weren’t to work out here, he’d just head off back.
“I think he’ll take time but it will be great for the League of Ireland if we can get him to a level.”
Reynolds was only two months into last season, in succession to Declan Devine, when he faced flak from the home support as the season fizzled out.
Sunday’s game was moved by Bohemians across Dublin to facilitate the deeper demand but also as an experiment for potential fixtures in the national stadium when Dalymount is out of commission next year for redevelopment works.
His squad overhaul has continued with the additions of Niall Morahan, John Mountney and Whelan – the latter a highly-rated striker still pining for full fitness after injury setbacks.
Captain Keith Buckley and Rob Cornwall are also like new signings, having missed last season through serious injuries.
“I actually felt at times last year that we weren’t too bad between both boxes,” he opined about the deficits to be addressed.
“That killer instinct at the top end is something we looked at.
“Colm is in who is an exceptional talent but obviously he’s coming back from a long-term injury so it was important to get another one in.”
Reynolds’ only previous visit to Dublin 4 as a manager was in his first job as player-manager of his hometown club, Waterford. They lost the 2004 FAI Cup final to Longford Town, a 2-1 loss laced in controversy due to a goal scored when two balls were on the pitch.
“We were robbed that day – and it took me a while to get over that,” he recounts.
“I was only 29, was playing as well, and I really should have taken myself off because we probably would have won. The two balls coming are my memories of it.
“When I managed at 29, we got to the Cup final and finished fourth. I thought it was easy and then I got sacked the next season.
“When we started to lose games and it got difficult, I didn’t know how to deal with it. That was great learning but at the time I thought I could walk on water.”
He doesn’t have any gripes with this game being moved.
“I think whether you're a player or manager you take the opportunity of playing in the national stadium.
“If I turned to the players and said no we’re not playing here they’d not be impressed. I know we’ve given up home advantage but it’s something they’re really looking forward to.
“We came back into pre-season in December, had a break at Christmas, but they always had this to say, this is how I’m starting the season. Everyone wanted to be ready for that.”
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