The term ‘maverick’ describes one who is unconventional and independent, with a mindset and behaviour that differs from the usual or expected. These individuals are often characterised by independent thinking and their willingness to take risks.

The amount of mavericks in football reached its zenith years ago. As the game evolved, managers and coaches began to loathe these players because they couldn’t control their free-thinking spirit, instead preferring footballers who were able to implement their exact instructions and not deviate from their ideas. Mavericks see things differently and operate on a different playing field to the rest of their competitors.

When they pick the ball up in the middle of the pitch, they aren’t thinking about what will happen if they lose it, or how they can gain their team more territory in the opposition half. They think about the multitude of ways they might be able to create something out of nothing, how they can positively impact the game, how they can hurt their opponents.

Rayan Cherki, Cole Palmer, Michael Olise, Lamine Yamal. All players I believe fit this profile. You may think there’s others, you may think one of them isn’t a so-called ‘maverick’. But most of us can agree that there’s a lot less of them now, compared to a decade ago.

However, regular followers of the French second division will tell you that these guys still exist and are indeed thriving. In northern France, 10km from the Belgian border, a diminutive 19 year old Moroccan is capturing Dunkerque fans’ hearts and the nation’s attention due to his on-pitch temerity. 406km south, an 18 year old forward is bringing unbridled joy to the city of Troyes.

Gessime Yassine, a 5ft 7 forward capable of playing on both flanks - and Mathys Detourbet, a left winger who’s more than happy to drift infield and cause havoc. Both are predominantly wide players, both reside in the second tier of French football and both put a smile on your face when you watch them because they are, in my opinion, the textbook definition of mavericks.

Yassine, born in France but choosing to represent Morocco, has that flair and technical ability that only North-African countries seem to be able to produce. Watch him for 5 minutes and you’ll see a bit of Riyad Mahrez, you’ll see some Sofiane Boufal. The confidence and nonchalant attitude, those dazzling and delightful moments of improvisation no doubt harnessed and mastered playing football on the streets.

Gessime Yassine has the capability to embarrass you on the football field. He knows how good he is and in turn wants everyone else to know it too. From the fans leaving the stadium to the opposition full-back as he lays his head on the pillow, he wants them to be thinking about him.

The Moroccan youth international lit up the u20 World Cup in Chile a few weeks ago, with 2 goals and 3 assists in 7 games. Morocco went on to win the competition, for the first time in their history and Yassine was rightfully named in the team of the tournament. My favourite performance of his came at the hands of a France u20 team who did not know what on earth to do with him. Towards the end of the game, Yassine was picking the ball up on the right touchline, dancing through the French players and making them look silly in the process. They were doing everything they could to stop him but Yassine was laughing at them. They couldn’t touch him. No matter how hard they tried to blatantly hack him down, for that 20 minute spell, he may as well have been Ronaldinho.

Yassine is fearless because he’s extremely aware of his ability. Often he tries to pull off tricky passes and dribble past players and sometimes it doesn’t work out. But it never deters him. His creativity and technical ability is evident in almost every action, he has the eye for a tricky pass and can come up with innovative solutions in a split-second to carry him out of tight situations. Dunkquerke fans love the guy, opposition defenders undoubtedly loathe him.

And averaging a g/a in less than 130 minutes in Ligue 2, a move upwards to the first division or elsewhere in Europe is almost inevitable.

Yassine would be widely considered as the best young attacker in Ligue 2 if it wasn’t for Troyes’ Mathys Detourbet. In France, his talents are beginning to become more widely known as he’s recently earned himself a call-up to the under 21s, a squad that could rival a lot of major nations’ first teams.

Detourbet is perhaps less flashy than Yassine, but it doesn’t mean his genius can’t match up to the Moroccan’s. The 18 year old’s standout trait is his intelligence. His understanding of when to pass and how to move after the pass means he’s virtually able to dictate games from the left touchline. Despite being very right-footed, it seems the opposition can’t stop him from doing whatever he wants. His first touch is almost always immaculate and just like Yassine, his first thought always revolves around how he can create something, and take the game to the opposition.

He thinks and sees things at an astonishing speed, which is rare for an 18 year old. Before he’s close to getting the ball, Detourbet already knows what he’s doing and it means his first touch is almost always a positive one. He thrives when he’s got players close to him that he can combine with quickly but due to his relatively long frame and good acceleration, it means he has no problem with taking players 1v1. In tight situations, the teenager has the twinkle toes to keep the ball when it seems improbable. He is also blessed with fantastic vision and weight of pass that means there’s no ball he thinks he can’t play on his magical right foot, whether it’s likely to come off or not.

There’s some Jack Grealish to him, the younger Grealish who was full of life and confidence at Aston Villa. There’s also a hint of Michael Olise sprinkled in there - a tall, skillful wide creator who has no problem with playing centrally.

Starting half the games for a Troyes side top of Ligue 2, it seems that one way or another, he could be playing top-flight football next year.

Both Yassine and Detourbet are fearless youngsters who see boundless opportunities to exploit when they touch the ball. You can tell that they’re both players who just enjoy playing the beautiful game and for that reason it’s difficult to not root for them. Ligue 2 is home to two of the most unique and inimitable gems across the continent and it will be intriguing to see how both their careers develop.

In the future, coaches may have no choice but to turn to these maverick-like players who can take risks and create chances out of thin air, in order to dismantle the low-blocks and settled defensive structures that have become rife in Europe’s top leagues. We can only hope that this is the case and both Detourbet and Yassine make it to the very top of the game, because football will be a more enjoyable sport for it.

Meet the two teenage mavericks lighting up Ligue 2

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