Elye Wahi

Sepe Elye Wahi (born 2 February 2003) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Montpellier.

Elye Wahi
Wahi with Montpellier in 2022
Personal information
Full name Sepe Elye Wahi
Date of birth (2003-01-02) 2 January 2003
Place of birth Courcouronnes, France
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Montpellier
Number 21
Youth career
2009–2016 Suresnes
2016–2018 Caen
2018 Montfermeil
2018–2020 Montpellier
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Montpellier B 11 (3)
2020– Montpellier 81 (30)
International career‡
2019 France U16 2 (0)
2019 France U17 1 (0)
2021–2022 France U19 10 (4)
2022– France U21 3 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:33, 7 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2022

Club career

While a youth player at Caen, Wahi made headlines for scoring 89 goals in the 2016–17 season as an under-14 and under-15 player.[2][3]

On 17 October 2019, Wahi signed his first professional contract with Montpellier.[4] He made his professional debut in a 2–0 Ligue 1 loss to Metz on 16 December 2020.[5]

Wahi scored his first goal for Montpellier in a 3–2 loss to Monaco on 15 January 2021. In doing so, he became the club's second-youngest ever goal scorer at the age of 18 years and 13 days.[6] On 14 March 2022, Wahi signed a contract extension at Montpellier.[7] On 29 December 2022, by scoring his twentieth career Ligue 1 goal in a 2–0 away win over Lorient, Wahi became only the second teenager after Kylian Mbappé to reach this milestone in the previous forty years.[8] He quickly became the second youngest player in the history of Ligue 1 to reach the landmark of 25 goals in the competition.[9] On 7 May 2023, he scored all four goals single-handedly in 15 minutes for Montpellier in a 5–4 away defeat to Lyon.[10]

International career

Born in France, Wahi is of Ivorian descent.[2] He is a youth international for France. He had a single cap with France U17, where he played against Italy U17 on 3 December 2019. The match ended in a 1–1 draw.

With France U19, he scored a goal against England U19 on 6 October 2021, in a 3–1 win. He then also scored in the next game against Mexico U19, which ended in a 4–1 victory.

In September 2022, Wahi was called up for the first time with France U21 by manager Sylvain Ripoll.[11] He went on to score his first goal on his second cap for the national side against Belgium U21.[12]

Controversy

In October 2021, a 22-year old woman filed a legal complaint against Wahi for violence that resulted in her being incapable to work. She claimed that he had punched her in the nose during an evening out at the L'Entrepôt nightclub in Lattes, Hérault, in the night of 12–13 September a month earlier.[13] The woman received treatment from emergency services due to the violence.[14]

In November 2021, it was revealed by investigative reporter Romain Molina that Wahi had been expelled from Caen's youth academy for allegedly pressuring secondary school students to masturbate in front of him in the bathrooms.[15][16][3]

Career statistics
As of match played 7 May 2023[17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Coupe de France Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Montpellier 2020–21 Ligue 1 18340223
2021–22 Ligue 1 3310303610
2022–23 Ligue 1 3017003017
Total 8130708830
Career total 8130708830

    References
    1. "Elye Wahi". Montpellier HSC. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
    2. "Meet 14-year-old SM Caen forward Elye Wahi, who scored 89 goals last season". www.getfootballnewsfrance.com.
    3. Tarayre, Romain (23 December 2021). "The Dark Side of the "Beautiful" Game". The Spectator. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
    4. "MHSC : Elye Wahi, 16 ans et déjà pro !". Gazette live.
    5. "Montpellier vs. Metz - 16 December 2020". Soccerway.
    6. "Elye Wahi, 2e plus jeune buteur de l'histoire du club | MHSC Foot , billetterie Montpellier Hérault, mhsc match, match Montpellier, led publicitaire, panneau publicitaire led". www.mhscfoot.com. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
    7. "Elye Wahi extends contract with Montpellier". Get French Football News. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
    8. Béal, Xavier (29 December 2022). "Lorient-Montpellier : Elye Wahi égale un record de Kylian Mbappé". Goal (in French). Retrieved 29 December 2022.
    9. Maurice, Nicolas (20 March 2023). "Wahi, toujours lui". Esprit Paillade (in French). Retrieved 18 April 2023.
    10. "L'OL arrache une victoire complètement folle face à Montpellier (5-4)" (in French). L'Équipe. 7 May 2023.
    11. Wojtowicz, Luka (14 November 2022). "Elye Wahi convoqué de dernière minute avec les Bleus Espoirs". Esprit Paillade (in French). Retrieved 18 April 2023.
    12. Waked, Nicolas (26 September 2022). "Elye Wahi buteur avec les Espoirs !". Esprit Paillade (in French). Retrieved 18 April 2023.
    13. Lengronne, Victor (9 October 2021). "Montpellier : le joueur du MHSC Elye Wahi accusé de violences par une femme qui a déposé plainte" [Montpellier: the MHSC player Elye Wahi accused of violence by a woman who has filed a complaint]. France Info (in French). Retrieved 13 June 2022.
    14. "Montpellier prospect Elye Wahi accused of hitting a woman in a nightclub". Get French Football News. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
    15. "Sex scandals, pedophiles & more: Journalist drops At Least 20 insane revelations about top footballers". Tribuna. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
    16. Lenormand, Maxime (19 November 2021). "Romain Molina dévoile les raisons qui auraient poussé Caen à renvoyer Elye Wahi". Malherbe-inside.fr (in French). Retrieved 29 December 2022.
    17. "E. Wahi Soccerway". Retrieved 14 March 2023.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.