Benin international Steve Mounié is over the moon after scoring a brace in his first game of the 2017/18 Premier League season.
The 22-year-old produced two emphatic finishes to top up on a collective individual performance as newly promoted Huddersfield introduced themselves to the Premier League with a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace at the Selhurst Park.
“Now people know who I am. I couldn’t imagine a better start. It’s a big confidence boost,” Mounié opened up before revealing his long-held admiration for Chelsea legend Didier Drogba.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“It’s amazing to win our first Premier League game and for me to score two goals on my debut as well, I am a striker and it’s my job and I am always confident that I will be able to score. My idol is Drogba, sometimes I just watch video clips of him, scoring goals over here. I think I have a similar style with him. I’m big like him. Benteke as well, who is a great striker. I have to learn from them.[/perfectpullquote]
“What he [Drogba] did here is an inspiration to me. He is also African and we almost have the same story. He was born in Africa and came to France and then to England. I will try and follow in his footsteps. He is a great player and man. I’ve never met him but maybe I will in the future.
“Whether it is in the top French league or the Premier League you just have to try to do your best on the pitch and it went my way (against Crystal Palace) so it’s all good.
“It is crazy; I will take a picture of the table.” The towering forward added.
Huddersfield coach David Wagner, who has earned a reputation for his shrewd recruitment couldn’t find enough superlatives to describe Mounié’s performance after the well-deserved win.
“It was a great day for Steve Mounie; perfect if you come new into the Premier League. For this year he has to confirm and make further steps but we should not forget he’s 22, still very young, has a lot of space to improve.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“The good thing is that he isn’t only a goal scorer, he is also a very good character, open-minded, who likes to learn and who likes to work. This, altogether, can give you everything you need to become a proper striker in the Premier League,”[/perfectpullquote]
Wagner said.
Most pundits were tipping Huddersfield to at best, survive relegation but Wagner believes his side can put up a challenge and surprise ‘the prophets of doom’ as they did last season.
“I know that we have a real chance to stay up. I knew this before this game. We are in the Premier League and we have a real chance and it’s up to us what we do out of it,” he added.
The 6ft 3inches forward scored 11 goals for Montpellier in France’s Ligue 1 last season before joining the Terriers for a club-record fee of £12m in the summer.
Mounié’s clinical finishing, ability to hold the ball up, and aerial threat make him a serious asset for the side but he still has a long way to go if he’s to emulate Drogba’s success in the Premier League.
He is one of the eight new arrivals at West Yorkshire club brought in to improve the club’s chances of staying in the top flight after qualifying via playoffs from the championship last season.
The game marked Huddersfield’s return to the premier league since 1978 but the side still has a lot to prove considering they qualified with a negative goal difference from the championship.
Featured Photo: Getty Images
