Nîmes Olympique: a young Lille striker loaned until the end of the season, “a dribbler to set matches alight”

Having appeared eight times on the LOSC bench in Ligue 1 since the start of the season, Aaron Malouda came into play for just one minute on January 25, against Strasbourg. MAXPPP – BAZIZ CHIBANE

The crocodile club has its winter recruit: Aaron Malouda. The 19-year-old striker on loan from LOSC will make his appearance at La Bastide on Monday, February 3.

The two clubs have not yet officially communicated but the matter is settled. Crocodile coach Adil Hermach spoke about it himself on Friday, January 31, at a press conference, after the draw conceded to Costières against Valenciennes (0-0), for the 19th day of National: Lille (L1), which will take charge of the player's salary, will loan Aaron Malouda to Nîmes Olympique until the end of the season.

Son of former international Florent Malouda

Aged 19, the son of former international Florent Malouda (80 caps, 9 goals) is tied to LOSC until June 2027. A right-handed striker, he measures 1.83 m. Adil Hermach was able to talk with his future recruit who will participate on Monday, February 3rd in La Bastide in his first training session with his new partners. “I liked his speech. Being loaned, he wanted to play something. In the discussions we had, I felt that he had already got into tune (in relation to staying up). He will bring us some freshness.”

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Passed by Olympique Lyonnais and Rennes

Aaron Malouda, who was born in Ecully (Rhône), played at Olympique Lyonnais from 8 to 12 years old then at FC Lyon from 12 to 15 years old. He continued his training at Rennes for two seasons: 24 matches with the U19s (8 goals), 19 matches with the reserve in N2 (3 goals, 4 assists) and two semi-finals of the Coupe Gambardella (4 matches, 1 goal, 3 assists during the 2022-2023 edition).

In July 2023, he then joined LOSC where he signed his first professional contract, for a period of three years. Contract extended for one season in March 2024. French U19 international (5 caps), Aaron Malouda made his first appearance in Ligue 1 in October 2024 against Le Havre, entering the field for the last minute, then a few days later in the UEFA Europa Conference League (26 minutes of play), in Klaksvik.

This season, he has sat on the bench eight times in Ligue 1, playing a short minute against Strasbourg last week. He also played seven matches in National 3 with the Lille 2 team (3 goals).

Qualities of speed

Aaron Malouda is “a young player who trains with the professional group of a club that plays in the Champions League, underlined Adil Hermach. He has qualities of speed, he is a dribbler, to ignite matches. He is much more in one-on-one than Ali Abdallah was (striker loaned by Strasbourg at the start of the season, where he returned in December, Editor's note). He can play on the right or the left but he is also attracted to the goal. Is he a finisher ? I hope so! We have one in the team (Abdeldjelil), we will try to feed him a little more.”

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