Ligue 2 Side Secure Former French Under 20 International

Ligue 2 side Pau has secured the services of full-back Jordy Gaspar six months after he left Grenoble. 

Still only 26, the right-sided defender arrives after six months out of the game. His signing was announced on Pau’s social media outlets with a simple statement saying:

Jordy Maku Gaspar est 🟡🔵 !

Le latéral droit d'expérience, qui cumule près de 90 matchs de @Ligue2BKT, vient renforcer la défense Paloise et portera le n°12

Bienvenue Jordy ! 👑#PauFC #RésolumentPalois pic.twitter.com/CjofBoptZt

— Pau Football Club (@PauFootballClub) January 28, 2024

Gaspar came through the youth ranks with Lyon, making his dbeut for them in the Champions League at the age of 19. He started their game against Sevilla in September 2016, lasting 71 minutes before being withdrawn. During his time with Lyon he appeared once for France’s Under 19 side and once for the Under 20s.

He was unable to agree professional terms with Lyon, and after 29 appearances for the B team, he signed for Monaco. He spent three seasons at the Stade Louis II without making a senior appearance, but he did have a loan spell with Cercle Brugge in Belgium. He appeared 16 times in the Belgian top flight, scoring once and adding two assists as they finished 13th.

It wasn’t a springboard for more football with his parent club, and in 2020, he signed for Grenoble in Ligue 2. His time there has been unremarkable in an attacking sense – in three seasons and 91 outings, he managed three assists and a single goal. He left the club this summer and has since been a free agent.

He joins a Pau side currently in ninth in Ligue 2 but just two points outside the playoff places and five behind Gaspar’s former employer, Grenoble.

Site Opinion

Gaspar is still only 26, and whilst French honours may elude him, he is eligible to play for Angola. That surely provides plenty of motivation to get back to appearing regularly for a club side.

His attacking numbers haven’t been great at Grenoble, and he’ll be hoping for a better run of form at Pau. They don’t rank in the top five for shots, touches in the area, or crosses in Ligue 2 – in fact, they’re 12th, 12th, and 14th, respectively. However, being ninth in the table underlines a certain clinical element to their play, and perhaps using Gaspar to create more can help fire them up the table.