Neal Maupay – the French Ashley Barnes?
A Brighton striker who is a menace to defend against, possesses questionable finishing ability, has a fiery temperament which sometimes lands him in trouble, loves winding up opposition supporters and who divides the fan base like few players have ever managed… are we talking about Neal Maupay or Ashley Barnes?
The similarities between the two Albion number nines are striking. Which raises an interesting question about whether Maupay is being underappreciated by those Brighton fans who think he brings nothing to Graham Potter’s party in the same way Barnes used to be such a polarising figure.
For most of his four years with Brighton, Ashley Barnes managed to create a near 50-50 split among supporters between those who rated him and those who did not.
Nobody wants to be on the wrong side of history, which is why when you ask Albion supporters about Barnes seven years after his departure for Burnley, 90 percent now say they always thought he was a quality player and that it was a mistake to have sold him.
The reality is that when Barnes moved to Burnley for £750,000 in January 2014 – the fee was so low because he was out of contract at the end of the season – there was no great outcry about his departure. There were even offers to drive him to Burnley.
There were plenty of reasons not to like Barnes. He could produce misses every bit as astonishing as Maupay, Aaron Connolly, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Leandro Trossard and the rest of the class of 2021 have managed this season.
Barnes could also be a complete liability. In February 2013, he was shown a straight red card after 33 minutes away at Sheffield Wednesday. Six weeks later and just three matches after that suspension had ended, he tripped up referee Nigel Miller in a 1-0 defeat at Bolton Wanderers.
Cue a seven game ban at the business end of the season when Gus Poyet He Who Must Not Be Named needed everyone fit and firing as Brighton sought a Championship playoff spot.
Despite those flaws, Barnes was a vital player for Brighton. His work rate stretched defences, he could hold the ball up well and his link up play was top class.
It was only once Barnes moved to Turf Moor that those who doubted him realised just how good he was at the role he fulfilled. A classic case of not knowing what you have until it is gone. Since then, Barnes has thrived in the Premier League – hence the revisionism of everyone loving him when he played for the Albion.
Maupay made his latest move straight out of the Barnes playbook when picking up a ridiculous red card of his own as Brighton lost 2-1 at Wolves. Whilst there was no tripping up of a referee, confronting Jonathan Moss with foul and abusive language to be dismissed after the final whistle is still a pretty stupid thing to do.
Other examples of Maupay following in Barnes’ footsteps include the delight both players take in winding up opposition supporters. Maupay has managed to push the buttons of Arsenal fans to the point where they seem to hate him almost as much as they do Spurs.
Barnes was the same, most notably celebrating in front of the Plymouth home end when he notched against his former club on a lovely Tuesday night trip to Devon in September 2010.
Maupay misses chances that you would back a giraffe with no legs to put away. It is no secret that if he performed to his xG, he could have double the number of goals he currently does this season.
Expected goals were not a thing when Barnes was wearing blue and white (or if they were, they hadn’t reached League One and Championship level) so we will never be able to compare the xG of Maupay and Barnes, but if I were a betting man then I would put a decent wedge on their figures being about the same.
What Maupay does do is cause a headache for opposition defences, much like Barnes. And much like Barnes, he is at his best when he is deployed as a second striker and not being called upon as the main source of goals.
Barnes was an excellent foil for Glenn Murray and then Leonardo Ulloa; Maupay has been most effective in 2020-21 when teamed with Danny Welbeck, especially when Potter deployed the duo as split centre forwards.
When Maupay operated from a much wider position on the right in the 3-0 home win over Newcastle United and the unfortunate 2-1 defeat at Manchester United, he delivered his two most convincing displays of the campaign. That shows there is a Premier League standard player in there.
The problem Maupay faces is his latest misdemeanour may be a step too far for Brighton to let slide. Whereas Poyet You Know Who was willing to forgive Barnes even when he was kicking referees, it appears as though Potter’s patience is starting to run thin with Maupay.
The Frenchman has already been dropped once this season for disciplinary reasons when Brighton lost 2-1 at Spurs in November. Maupay’s abuse of Mr Moss following the final whistle at Molineux could well be the straw that breaks the camel’s back according to The Athletic, who have reported that the Frenchman’s current goal return is not thought to make him worth the trouble he can sometimes cause.
Still, it would be a shock to see Maupay leave Brighton this summer just two years after the club paid a record-breaking £20 million for his services.
But in the event Maupay were to be sold, he would do so with a lot of Albion fans saying good riddance to a player they deem not good enough. As with Barnes, that would be a harsh assessment on a striker whose game is about much more than goals.
It took Barnes moving to Burnley for Brighton supporters to truly appreciate his talents as a player. Could we be sat here in five years time with Albion supporters rewriting history to claim Maupay was universally appreciated during his time at the Amex?
Hopefully, we don’t need to find out and the French Ashley Barnes remains an Albion player for some time yet.
