Former Academy Director at Caen, Landry Chauvin saw Jean-Victor Makengo grow up. Nowadays, in charge of the academy at Stade Rennais, he picked up the phone to allow us to discover more about the first recruit of the transfer window. Powerful, perfectionist and hard working, he paints the image of a young man who isn’t used to wasting any time.

The Makengo family had a good excuse for missing the World Cup final on 12 July 1998. It was to be the day that the youngest member of the family, Jean-Victor, decided to enter the world, around 60 kilometres south of the Stade de France (in Étampes, Essonne). In a family in which everybody pulled on football boots (his brother Chris was trained at Auxerre and his sister Anaïs played in D1 with Issy-les-Moulineaux), the child who is known as “JV” followed in the path of his older siblings. He first took to the pitches of the Paris region, before joining Stade Malherbe de Caen at just 13 years old.

“He had no reason to be there"

Named Academy Director in September 2014, Landry Chauvin saw him play for the first time during a match against Lens, at U17 level: “After that match, I decided to put him straight into the reserves. Even though he was only 16, he had no reason to be there.”

Without passing through the U19s, apart from a few games in the Coupe Gambardella, Makengo continued his progress in the reserves. “I usually talk about what training offers and what a competition offers, detailed Chauvin. In youth football, it wasn’t enough for Jean-Victor. He was already ready to be involved at a higher level.”

“In the first games in CFA2, he was shy, and was happy to play a very restrictive game, told his former coach. We insisted on his ability to break the lines and he made a lot of progress, especially in his movement. He is ready to listen. He is a real worker.”  Who, very early on, integrated the requirements of  high level football: “He added sessions to work on his muscular reinforcement. He immediately understood that his body was his tool.”

“I tried to bring him to Rennes”

Appointed Academy Director at Rennes in 2015, Landry Chauvin tried to take his protege with him: “It didn’t work out for several reasons. But there was a real desire to continue working with him.”  “JV” chose stability and discovered the top-flight with Stade Malherbe de Caen, where he played 10 games (5 starts) in his first season.

The following season, he was one of the 11 who ended the Gym’s invincibility in Ornano (1-0). He increased his game time (17 matches, including  9 starts), but faced competition from more experienced players, brought in for the fight against relegation (Delaplace, Féret, etc.). 

Convinced by his potential, numerous clubs circled, “including certain who had stronger final prowess that OGC Nice” according to Jean-Pierre Rivère. Persuaded by the project of the Red and Blacks, he travelled to the Côte d'Azur right at the beginning of the summer window. “Really, Nice have got a sensational deal!” in Chauvin’s opinion.

With the objective of blooming in an environment that is conducive for young talents: “Of course, it will take time”, Lucien Favre and Jean-Pierre Rivère declared at the same time during the official presentation at the Allianz Riviera. “For me, it is never the coach who decides the ideal moment, explains Landry Chauvin. It is the youngster who leads the coach into picking him. When a door is half-open, you need to pile through it. That is what Malang Sarr managed to do last year for example.”

“Nobody will be rolling out the red carpet”

In the same way as his France youth international teammate (an injury prevented him from being in the last squad, editor’s note), he will be facing tough competition. “In Nice, he has reached a new turning point, commented  Chauvin. Here, nobody will be rolling out the red carpet. He is going to have to battle to earn his place, but he has the mentality to do so. And with the games piling up, he will have his chance.”

The former Nantes coach insisted: “He is a really hard worker. He has a culture of putting the effort in.” Even described as a “perfectionist” by those who have worked with him: “For me, it is a huge quality! It’s easier to slow a player down than it is to speed one up, observed Chauvin.  He has a hard-working mentality and is a team player: which is ideal to move forward in the right conditions.”

A small yet explosive build (1m77, 75kg), the new number 27 for the Gym has often been compared to N’Golo Kanté, who he watched when young at Malherbe. “They are similar physically, admitted Landry Chauvin. But Kanté is more of a destroyer. Jean-Victor has a different profile, he can play higher up the pitch, is able to break the line with the ball or through his movement. He needs to be in the box more and, eventually, he needs to score goals.”

F.H.

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