Whatever Happened to… Jérémie Aliadière?

Having recently read an article about the plethora of talented players which Arsene Wenger has produced during his time at Arsenal, it got me thinking about one man who has seemingly slipped off the face of the footballing world. That man is Jérémie Aliadière. At 28, Aliadière should be in his prime of footballing career, yet he has seemingly disappeared.

Jérémie Aliadière joined Arsenal in 1999 as one of the best prospects in European football. He was at Arsenal for 6 years (although injuries meant that he had limited opportunities and only made 29 league appearances for the club, scoring once).

He is still often remembered at Arsenal for playing through a groin injury because he had finally started to get a run of games together and was scared to drop out. As a youth player he showed considerable potential and was one of the most prolific players to have played in the F.A. youth cup. He also has an enviable record in the Carling Cup where he was awarded the “Young Talent of the League Cup award” during the 02/03 season (an award comparable to the Ballon d’Or in some (albeit very, very small) circles).

Following a series of loan moves throughout England and Scotland, Aliadière was sold to Middlesbrough for £2.5million at the beginning of the 2007/08 season, playing for them for three seasons (two in the Premiership and one in the Championship), scoring 11 goals. Following another injury hit period of his career, and a multitude of collapsed moves, Aliadière eventually left Middlesbrough when his contract expired in June 2010.

Following his release from Middlesbrough the man who was tipped for the top was left with an uncertain future in the game. Having had such promising foundations, injuries had curtailed any chances of forging a successful career. In March 2011, with the help of his former Arsenal manager, Aliadière was allowed to regain his fitness at the clubs training ground in his quest to find a new club. The emergence of the Arsenal-Lorient (from France) relationship meant Arsene was able to recommended his former teen sensation to Lorient, an offer taken up by the Breton outfit. As of now, one the hottest footballing prospects of the late 90’s has made 10 appearances for the French club, scoring twice.

Whilst this may seem a bit of a pointless piece, I was genuinely intrigued to find out what happened to him. Having been in English Football for as long as I can remember, I wanted to find how one of Arsene Wenger’s brightest prospects of the early noughties could seemingly disappear. For a man who should be entering the peak of his powers it is good to see him finally playing football again after a tumultuous footballing career.

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