THERE WERE GOALS against Everton, Arsenal, Spurs, West Ham, Wolves and Manchester United in Lys Mousset’s first season with Sheffield United in the Premier League.
But ask his old boss, Chris Wilder, about what stands out from that 2019/20 campaign and it’s a 15-minute substitute appearance away to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in early August.
“We were losing 2-1 and threw him on to try and get something from the game,” Wilder says. “Mouss got us the draw, he ran them ragged and worked so hard for us, he ran at them, took the game to them and did exactly what was asked. It was a big result for us and what he did off the bench showed that we were capable of doing something.”
Sheffield United finished that season in ninth place, two points below Arsenal.
The Chelsea back three that afternoon were Kurt Zouma, Fikayo Tomori and César Azpilicueta. They are now employed by West Ham, AC Milan, and Atletico Madrid, respectively.
Mousset this week agreed a deal with Bohemians after impressing on trial. He is still only 28, but the striker who cost a combined €18 million in transfer fees for Sheffield United and Bournemouth finds himself in the League of Ireland.
🚀 Qu'est-ce que c'est? pic.twitter.com/5tngtD3lwD
— Bohemian Football Club (@bfcdublin) February 5, 2025
“He is fighting to stay in the game at this stage and I just hope he has the hunger and fight back in him to make the most of the opportunity,” Wilder says. “He has to respect where he is because the level he is at will put demands on him now. If he gets himself right physically then he should still have the attributes that made him a Premier League player. But he has to want to fight for his career.”
Wilder signed Mousset because Eddie Howe, then Bournemouth boss, personally recommended him. Dominic Solanke pushed him further down the pecking order on England’s south coast. Mousset, the former France underage international, had arrived a few seasons previously for €8m from Le Havre.
Jermaine Defoe was a former teammate of Mousset at Bournemouth and raved about his finishing ability. Wilder also spoke to England international Aaron Ramsdale as part of his background checks. It’s why Sheffield United eventually made him a club record €12m (£10m) signing the summer they earned promotion to the Premier League.
“Mouss offered us something different, when he gets into his stride and takes the ball with him he is formidable, and he also worked extremely hard for us,” Wilder says.
When Bohs confirmed his surprise signing, former teammate John Egan was one of the first to congratulate him. “Let’s go mon frere,” he wrote.
❤️🖤 Welcome to Dalymount. pic.twitter.com/iy7QhSzWB8
— Bohemian Football Club (@bfcdublin) February 5, 2025
Wilder wasn’t surprised. “He settled in really well and there was a chemistry there with the other Irish boys; David McGoldrick, Enda Stevens and we brought Callum Robinson in too. Mouss was such a likeable guy, jovial and good to be around.”
A quick Google search also allows you make assumptions as to why the player has ended up at Dalymount Park two years before he turns 30.
“Sheffield United speak to forward after his Lamborghini was involved in crash,” reads on Sky Sports headline from January 2021, with the sub headline offering more detail. “South Yorkshire Police say an orange Lamborghini ‘was involved in a collision with a number of parked cars’ in the early hours of Monday morning; Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder confirms car belongs to Lys Mousset.
“He did have his injury problems, but you can’t use that as an excuse, you have to take responsibility for your own career,” Wilder says. “From where he was then in the Premier League to where he is now of course he will be disappointed in what’s happened.
“He has fallen through the divisions but he is also playing somewhere now where he needs to realise the opportunity he has. Everyone makes mistakes and if you don’t surround yourself with the right people you have to take responsibility for that too. But there is not a bad person in there, he is a good person and everyone who knows him will want him to do well.
“If he can get this right and show the hunger that he will have to show then everyone will be a winner out of it.”
After Sheffield United, Mousset headed for Salernitana in Serie A before a move to Bochum in Germany. He was only there for a couple of months before Bild reported that his contract was terminated by mutual consent because of a “lack of motivation, unpunctuality and unprofessionalism.”
That was 13 months ago. His last goals -a brace – in competitive action came in a 3-2 win for Sheffield United against Barnsley on 24 October 2021. What a story it would be if his next comes for Bohs when they open their Premier Division season with a Dublin derby against Shamrock Rovers at Aviva Stadium this day next week.
“He can frustrate and delight in equal measure,” Wilder says.
Well i think most people can understand that, i would back mickey harte to the hilt in any argument against RTE. I heard the skit and was shocked at the time, the guy that did it is just not funny.
Rte are muppets.
I agree with the 2 previous comments. John Murray has a smugness about him that reminds me of his predecessor on Radio 1 who has since gone on to ‘bigger and better things’
Murray is a muppet. His attempts at humour are pathetic. I switch off in the morning as soon as the news is over. Sadly there is a dearth of talent at RTE. Perhaps lowering salaries to appropriate levels might remove the smugness?
John Murray (who makes nice bobs on the side when RTE buy shows; like the recent Charlie Bird excursion to the South Pole, which he was involved in producing), is woefully ill suited to what he is doing now. He’s as funny as a broken leg in a marathon. Like Mooney in the afternoon, his signature tune has me reaching for the next station within nanoseconds.
He is a current affairs man, and that’s it. Des Cahill is a colour reporter, not a snorting ill prepared sports correspondent with stilted delivery and a jarring manner. Pat Kenny is a well briefed incisive and thorough interviewer, who happens to be devoid of spontaneous persona, so they gave him a talk show for eleven years, at the bones of three quarters of a million for each of those years. Tubridy is a vacuous, bubble dwelling non entity, who only came to life in recent times when Fianna Fail were mentioned, and now he’s numero uno, and falling fast. Duffy was a vox pop guy, who was anointed by Gaybo, beyond his talents, and now makes the Lahvline his own personal soapbox, treating callers with sheer bad manners, abruptness, and sighing condescension.
The late Gerry Ryan, who drove me cracked with his on air consumption of any passing foodstuffs, his constant plugs for Harry Crosbie and his other buddies (in exchange for freebies of course), and his arrogance, had, despite all those failings, more charm, and more personality than the whole flippin’ lot put together.
He was probably one of the only on air personalities in that institution, (with the exception of a fair chunk of the news team, Morning Ireland et al.) who wasn’t promoted beyond their station, as it were.
RTE is a living breathing example of the Peter Principle, with a healthy dash of nepotism.
Rte should be shut down
What a choice of song…idiots. What planet are they on. John murrays show is scripted and produced, there’s more than him to blame. And who leaked the contents of the private and confidential letter received by Rte? The postman?! The cleaner?? Professor plum in the library with the candlestick??!
All GAA players should boycott RTE this weekend and send the smug fcukers a clear message.
Ryan, with respect Gerry Ryan most certainly was promoted outside of his own show…secrets, school around the corner, Ryan confidential, operation transformation and on and on. Rte seem to use the same handful of bores to do everything! But leaking a letter and handing a "satirical" script to John Murray of all people to read out??? What planet were they on. Did they think people would turn on the hugely respected Mickey Harte instead of them??? Eejits.
Oh, I quite agree, Jaynie. I wouldn’t be looking at him with rose tinted specs or anything :) I remember The School Around The Corner too!
But my point remains that his bread and butter, the morning slot on 2fm, despite the faults I bored ye all with, had far more individuality attached than John Murray’s efforts.
His producer would want to be…I won’t say what, but as you allude to, there is a large and bloated degree of support behind the guy or gal on the mic, especially and almost exclusively wrt RTE, and it’s ridiculous that none of them had the skill or the cop on to say, “Hang on a second!”
Very insensitive, I’m a Dublin gaa supporter and it’s true to say we are like one big family.its very upsetting what the Harte family and John went through.shame on ya RTE.if I wasn’t going to the game tomorrow I wouldn’t bother watching it on tv.
‘One big ‘family” – when the footballers play Croker is always full (or nearly so) , when the hurlers have a game never more than half full. Lots of ‘family’ members don’t do their duty when the caman is involved.
Mickey Harte has had a tragic year, and in the face of all that stress he still pushes forward his beloved Tyrone to greater heights. The sketch was insensitive for sure, and would understandably have annoyed Harte at this time. It isn’t fair, however, to paint all of RTÉ as ‘muppets’ – this is an organisation made up of many individuals – doing their best and, more often than not, doing a great job. The problem with comment sites like these, I find, is that the negative voice is quite often the only one that bothers with being heard. John Murray is a fine presenter, so is Mooney etc… Not perfect, but who is?
Totally agree with you there, wouldn’t exactly call him a natural! In such bad taste! Did not one person on the team say…hang on a minute…maybe not the best choice of song…oh and probably best not to skit about the private and confidential letter our boss leaked, sorry, I mean received