Wonderkid Gouiri has shown maturity at OGC Nice - Hassane Kamara

BetOdds African All Stars Nice Amine Gouiri Hassane Kamara Nice v Lens Lens Ligue 1

The 20-year-old forward has impressed so far for Les Aiglons since transferring from Lyon

New OGC Nice recruit Hassane Kamara has praised fellow new signing Amine Gouiri for displaying a certain degree of maturity in the short space he has been with the club.

The Franco-Algerian wonderkid joined Les Aiglons from Olympique Lyon in a four-year deal worth €7 million.

He has already hit the ground running, scoring three goals in pre-season. Gouiri netted a brace in a 6-0 bashing of Slovak side Dunajska Streda before scoring the consolation goal in a 4-1 defeat by Austrian giants Red Bull Salzburg.

Kamara, for his part, joined from Reims and got a goal for himself in pre-season in a 2-1 victory over Standard Liege.

“Amine and I arrived at the same time. He is young but he already has a certain maturity,” the Franco-Gambian left-back was reported saying in FootMercato . “He knows where he wants to go, he has ambition.

"When I spoke with him, he told me he wanted to have a great career and go far. He knows he is young and that he needs to work and improve in several areas. He is motivated and serious. He tries to do his best to achieve his goals.

“On the field, he was able to show his qualities directly. He is a number 9 but the coach used him a little more on the left. At no time did I see him baulk. He performed well. He has scored goals and he shows he came here to work and perform. He's a really good teammate.”

Gouiri made the move to Nice due to lack of playing opportunities at Lyon where he featured just 15 times in all competitions since his break-through in 2017, eight of those outings coming in Ligue 1.

He has acknowledged that Les Gones did not stand in his way of a transfer and that he was attracted by ambitions of Nice under former France international and Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira.

“I spoke with [Lyon sporting director] Juninho. He understood my choice to join Nice,” Gouiri said. “[Vieira] spoke to me very well about the club project. I was directly hooked.

"It's an ambitious club like me."

Gouiri will begin his competitive adventure with Nice when they host newly promoted RC Lens in Ligue 1 on Sunday.

2020-08-21 23:00:06

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