Stephy Alvaro Mavididi (born 31 May 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Premier League club Leicester City.

Stephy Mavididi
Stephy Mavididi with Leicester City in 2024.
Personal information
Full name Stephy Alvaro Mavididi[1]
Date of birth (1998-05-31) 31 May 1998 (age 26)[2]
Place of birth Derby, England
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward, winger
Team information
Current team
Leicester City
Number 10
Youth career
Southend United
2011–2016 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Arsenal 0 (0)
2017Charlton Athletic (loan) 5 (0)
2017–2018Preston North End (loan) 10 (0)
2018Charlton Athletic (loan) 12 (2)
2018–2019 Juventus U23 32 (6)
2018–2020 Juventus 1 (0)
2019–2020Dijon (loan) 24 (5)
2020–2023 Montpellier 91 (21)
2023– Leicester City 61 (14)
International career
2015 England U17 9 (1)
2015 England U18 1 (0)
2016 England U19 5 (2)
2017 England U20 3 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:18, 15 December 2024 (UTC)

Early and personal life

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Born in Derby,[3] Mavididi was raised in East London.[4] His younger brother Shaun is also a footballer.[4]

Club career

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Arsenal

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Mavididi playing for Arsenal U19s in 2015.

He began his career at Southend United before joining Arsenal at the age of 13.[5] He turned professional with Arsenal in July 2015.[6]

Mavididi joined Charlton Athletic on loan on 31 January 2017 until the end of the season.[7] However, following an injury in his fifth game for the club, he returned to Arsenal on 1 March 2017, having made three starts and two substitute appearances.[8]

He signed on loan for Preston North End in August 2017.[9][10][11]

On 3 January 2018, it was announced by Arsenal that Mavididi had returned to the club and was then subsequently sent on loan with Charlton Athletic.[12] In his first game of his second loan spell at Charlton he scored his first goal in professional football in a 1–0 win over Oldham Athletic.[13] In February 2018 he suffered a hamstring injury.[14]

Juventus

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After eight years with Arsenal,[15] in August 2018, he signed for Italian club Juventus.[16] He was initially signed as a reserve player, having been scouted by Giorgio Chiellini's brother, but soon began training with the first team.[15] On 13 April 2019, Mavididi made his senior Juventus debut in a 2–1 away loss against S.P.A.L. in Serie A.[15][17][18] In doing so he became the first English player since David Platt in 1992 to play for Juventus.[15] Juventus won the Serie A title in his first season, but Mavididi did not receive a winner's medal as he had not played in enough matches.[15] Shortly after the championship title was confirmed, Mavididi learned that his father had died.[15]

On 29 August 2019, he joined French club Dijon on loan.[19]

Montpellier

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On 30 June 2020, Mavididi joined French club Montpellier on a permanent deal worth €6.3 million.[20]

On 16 April 2023, Mavididi became the English player with the most appearances in the history of Ligue 1 after making his 108th appearance, overtaking the record of Chris Waddle.[21]

He later described his time with Montpellier saying "Everyone just sees the charmed life, but it is really more than that. For me personally I have been to some dark places being far away from home. For example I have a little brother and I basically missed all his teenage years growing up - it's little things like that, that can really take a toll on you [...] For me the dark times have made me 10 times stronger".[4]

Leicester City

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On 31 July 2023, Mavididi returned to England and joined Championship club Leicester City for an undisclosed fee[22][23] reported to be around €7.5 million.[24] On 6 August, he made his debut for Leicester, in which he assisted Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's winning goal against Coventry City, in the club's first game of the season.[25] On 12 August, he scored his first goal for Leicester in the league in the 73rd minute in a 1–0 away win against Huddersfield Town.[26] His form over the next few weeks was inconsistent.[27] Following a run of five goals in seven games, Mavididi was awarded the EFL Championship Player of the Month award for December 2023.[28]

International career

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Mavididi was born in England and is of DR Congolese descent.[29] Mavididi has played for England at under-17 youth level, representing them at the 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship,[6] and the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[3] He has also played for England at under-18 and under-19 levels.[30]

Although he is eligible to play for the Congo national football team, Mavididi appeared to commit himself to England in December 2020, stating “my ultimate goal is to get into England’s senior team, but for now the best pathway is the Under-21s so I want to try and get into that squad”.[31]

Career statistics

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As of match played 14 December 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Arsenal 2016–17[32] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2017–18[13] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Charlton Athletic (loan) 2016–17[32] League One 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Preston North End (loan) 2017–18[13] Championship 10 0 0 0 1 0 11 0
Charlton Athletic (loan) 2017–18[13] League One 12 2 0 0 0 0 3[c] 0 15 2
Juventus U23 2018–19[33] Serie C 32 6 32 6
Juventus 2018–19[33] Serie A 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2019–20[33] Serie A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Dijon (loan) 2019–20[33] Ligue 1 24 5 4 3 0 0 28 8
Montpellier 2020–21[33] Ligue 1 35 9 5 0 40 9
2021–22[33] Ligue 1 30 8 1 0 31 8
2022–23[33] Ligue 1 26 4 1 0 26 4
Total 91 21 7 0 0 0 0 0 98 21
Leicester City 2023–24[33] Championship 46 12 1 1 1 0 48 13
2024–25[34] Premier League 15 2 0 0 2 1 17 3
Total 61 14 1 1 3 1 0 0 65 16
Career total 236 48 12 4 4 1 3 0 255 53
  1. ^ Includes FA Cup, Coupe de France
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ^ One appearance in EFL Trophy, two appearances in League One play-offs

Honours

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Leicester City

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Squads for 2016/17 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ a b "Profile". 11v11. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Profile". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "Foxes are Mavididi's 'light at the end of tunnel'". BBC Sport.
  5. ^ "Former Southend United youngster Stephy Mavididi makes £5.7million switch to Montpellier". Echo. 5 July 2020.
  6. ^ a b "STEPHY MAVIDIDI SIGNS FIRST PROFESSIONAL CONTRACT". The Football Association. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Stephy Mavididi: Arsenal striker joins Charlton Athletic on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  8. ^ "INJURY UPDATE: Stephy Mavididi ruled out for rest of season". Charlton Athletic F.C. 1 March 2017. Archived from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Stephy Mavididi: Preston North End sign Arsenal forward on loan". BBC Sport. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  10. ^ "Stephy Mavididi Joins PNE On Season Long Loan". Preston North End F.C. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  11. ^ "Stephy Mavididi joins Preston North End on loan". Arsenal F.C. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  12. ^ "Stephy Mavididi joins Charlton until end of season". Arsenal F.C. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  13. ^ a b c d "Games played by Stephy Mavididi in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  14. ^ "Stephy Mavididi: Charlton loanee suffers hamstring injury". BBC Sport. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  15. ^ a b c d e f "Stephy Mavididi: Juventus' English striker on winning Serie A and selfies with Ronaldo". BBC Sport. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  16. ^ "Stephy Mavididi signs for Juventus". Arsenal F.C. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  17. ^ "Spal Juve 2-1: gol e highlights. Floccari rinvia la festa scudetto bianconera" (in Italian). Sport.Sky.it. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  18. ^ "Juventus miss chance to seal eighth straight title with defeat at SPAL". BBC Sport. 13 April 2019.
  19. ^ "STEPHY MAVIDIDI REJOINT LE DFCO EN PRÊT". dfco.fr (in French). 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  20. ^ "OFFICIAL: Stephy Mavididi joins Montpellier". JuveFC. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  21. ^ Maurice, Nicolas (18 April 2023). "Mavididi, le plus français des anglais !". Esprit Paillade (in French). Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  22. ^ "Leicester City Complete Stephy Mavididi Signing". Leicester City F.C. 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  23. ^ "Leicester sign striker Mavididi from Montpellier". BBC Sport.
  24. ^ "Montpellier's Mavididi to sign for Leicester". www.besoccer.com. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  25. ^ "Leicester City 2-1 Coventry - Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scores two late goals to snatch victory". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  26. ^ "Huddersfield Town 0-1 Leicester City: Stephy Mavididi goal gives Foxes victory". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  27. ^ Blackwell, Jordan (20 October 2023). "Maresca tells Mavididi what he expects with Leicester winger at '50 per cent'". Leicestershire Live.
  28. ^ a b "EFL Award Wins For Maresca & Mavididi". www.lcfc.com. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  29. ^ "Stephy Mavididi, une pépite entre la RD Congo et l'Angleterre - StarAfrica". 21 February 2017.[permanent dead link]
  30. ^ "Profile". The Football Association. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  31. ^ "Montpellier's Stephy Mavididi: 'Training with Ronaldo helped me so much' | Montpellier". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  32. ^ a b "Games played by Stephy Mavididi in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  33. ^ a b c d e f g h Stephy Mavididi at Soccerway. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  34. ^ "Games played by Stephy Mavididi in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  35. ^ "Championship: 2023/24: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
    "Leicester: Squad details: 2023/24". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2024.