After Wolves added exciting defensive talent Bastien Meupiyou to their ranks, arriving at Molineux on a deal until 2029, wolves.co.uk explores what the French centre-back will bring to Gary O’Neil’s squad.
Profile
- Name: Bastien Ndemeni Meupiyou Menadjou
- Date of birth: 19th March 2006
- Position: Centre-back
- Nationality: France
- Previous club: Nantes
- Appearances: 37 (including under-19s, B-team and first-team)
- Goals: 0
- Assists: 0
Background
Born in the Ile-de-France suburb of Paris, Meupiyou started out playing for the youth teams of clubs near to his hometown, including Paris FC and Montfermeil, before joining Nantes as a young teenager. When he was only 16, Meupiyou’s name first came across Wolves’ scouting network, when the defender turned out for Nantes’ under-19s in the UEFA Youth League, despite being three years younger than the average age of players in that competition.
The 18-year-old went on to play regularly for the youth side, before being promoted into Nantes’ B-team during the 2022/23 campaign, before he made his senior debut almost 12 months ago, appearing in the starting line-up of the Ligue 1 match against Marseille.
He has also featured often for France at youth level, representing the under-17s at the 2023 U17 Euros in Hungary, in which Meupiyou appeared in all six matches as his country were defeated in the final against Germany on penalties, as well as claiming another runners-up medal at the U17 World Cup later that year.
Playing style
As a left-footed centre-back, Meupiyou’s stature stands out, with the 18-year-old being tall and lean, but also showing potential on the ball. The first thing Wolves’ recruitment team noticed about the defender was his physical side, as well as being a big and quick centre-back, similar to Yerson Mosquera and Toti.
Now being seen with the biggest teams in the world, such as Rudiger at Real Madrid, and Gabriel and Saliba at Arsenal, this type of centre-back is becoming preferable to top end managers, including Gary O’Neil, who wants to have Wolves playing a high line with pace at the back, and the recruitment team feel Meupiyou will fit in with this requirement.
However, he can also drop into other positions. Despite looking like a quintessential centre-back due to his height and physicality, he has shown capabilities on the ball, which has also allowed him to play left-back and centre-midfield. This ability is becoming more important for the centre-back position. Although Meupiyou has been recruited to play centre-back in gold and black, he provides an asset in his ability to play in multiple positions and systems.
Recruitment
Wolves’ recruitment team first reported on Meupiyou during the 2022/23 season while he playing for Nantes in the UEFA Youth League. Being a 16-year-old playing in an under-19 competition, the defender was flagged up onto Wolves’ system as one to keep an eye on. He could not be signed at the time because of registration rules of player under 18.
Meupiyou’s next report came from a Wolves academy scout in 2023 who watched the centre-back play for France against Scotland’s under-17s, where he stood out once again. He was flagged once more when he represented his country at the U17 Euros, before playing for France again at the U17 World Cup later that season, which is also where Wolves first scouted Pedro Lima.
During international youth tournaments, Wolves profile every team, and although the recruitment team did not really know Lima before tournament, they had plenty of knowledge of Meupiyou because of the work that had been carried out on him previously for Nantes and at younger French camps. They feel now is the right time to bring him to the club.
Attitude
Meupiyou, who has come over to Wolverhampton with his brother, has been described as a humble boy who has a love of football. On the pitch, the defender has showed great confidence, both in his physical ability to compete but also technical ability, but the recruitment team believe he has the necessary confidence to build from.
The defender already speaks some English, and as Wolves are a multicultural club there are many French speaking members of the playing squad and backroom staff who will help Meupiyou settle into life in Wolverhampton and at Compton Park.
Meupiyou has shown good character in his young age to bounce back from disappointments. The first was being sent off early on in his senior debut for Nantes, and then suffering a bad injury, which saw him miss the majority of last season. But the recruitment team feel the defender has reacted well to these set-backs and displays the type of character he is.
