Maxime Soulas, from Montpellier dead end to Denmark via PSV, makes his mark | OneFootball

Maxime Soulas is quietly building a career far from the spotlight. The 26-year-old centre-back left Montpellier for PSV and has been with Sönderjyske since summer 2021, still a little surprised anyone is asking about him.

According to L'Équipe, Sönderjyske have the penultimate budget yet are pushing to reach the season-ending championship group. They have beaten FC Copenhagen and Midtjylland, with four matches from February to stay in the top six.

His formative years at Montpellier ended early. Dropped to the U17 Excellence for a game against Lattes, he was spotted by Dutch agents and earned a one-year PSV deal, which even surprised people back home.

In Eindhoven he lived with a host family, played second-tier minutes alongside Cody Gakpo, Jordan Teze and Joël Piroe, then departed abruptly when he had hoped for a top-flight move. He joined Fremad Amager in Copenhagen, endured six months sidelined and an invitation to a Bulgarian affiliate he rejected, before finally impressing Sönderjyske.

This season he was named man of the match in August and handed a wheelbarrow with 55 kilos of potatoes, which he donated to the club canteen and on to social restaurants. Discreet by nature, he prefers to keep going out of the limelight and says there are other ways to build a good career. He still modestly hopes he might reach a top five European league one day.

Source: L'Équipe