Estéban Lepaul, driven by his late father, embraces first France call-up | OneFootball

Estéban Lepaul has arrived at Clairefontaine for his first France camp, intent on making an impact. According to Le Progres, the Rennes forward is driven by the memory of his father Fabrice, who died in 2020.

New to Clairefontaine and never capped at youth level, he is discovering the National Football Centre this week, three days after a training camp in Slovenia. Any early nerves soon eased, and he had allowed himself to think about Les Bleus after finishing as Ligue 1’s top scorer despite only arriving in the division in 2024.

Walking into the château brought a rush of memories, with Fabrice foremost. After experiencing top-level football and the Champions League, his father’s career ended at 24, the age at which Lepaul began his own in Ligue 1, a symmetry he views as a story to complete. He says the strength pushing him since 2020 comes from that legacy.

He embraces his atypical route, citing figures such as Franck Ribéry and Steve Savidan as proof that detours can lead to the summit. Partly raised in Alsace and once of Epinal, he believes fewer careers are linear and strong seasons can propel players quickly, offering hope to ambitious amateurs.

Lepaul references Olivier Giroud and Harry Kane and plans to use these two weeks with elite team-mates to broaden his game. Surrounded by Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué and Kylian Mbappé, he aims to find service and score, while trying to earn minutes. For him, hard work brings rewards.

Source: Le Progres

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”