‘He’s going to get beaten up!’ – On loan Everton wind-up merchant warned to ‘start practicing kickboxing’

Everton loanee Neal Maupay is back amongst the goals at Brentford and has caught the eye again with his blatant wind-up tactics. 

The French striker has found himself in altercations in his last few matches after seemingly saying things to opposition players that haven’t gone down well.

Most recently, Manchester City defender Kyle Walker complained to referee Stuart Atwell that Maupay had ‘spoke about his kids’ – something that the forward repeatedly denied.

Maupay scored a goal against the Cityzens in the match on Monday but Brentford ultimately lost 3-1 thanks to a Phil Foden hat-trick.

The 27-year-old has now scored four goals in 18 Premier League appearances this season – a significant improvement on last term, when he scored just once for Everton.

Brentford have the option to buy of around £15m included in Maupay’s loan agreement with Everton.

READ MORE: Premier League Predictions: Big Aston Villa v Man Utd verdict; goals galore for Liverpool; Arsenal ease to West Ham win

‘Maupay’s probably the most disliked person on the field’

Speaking on the Footballers Football Podcast, West Ham forward Michail Antonio said that Maupay is one of the most hated players in the Premier League.

“Maupay is known to be a bit of a wind-up! I know someone who knows him and he’s meant to be a nice guy off the pitch but he does it on purpose,” Antonio said.

“I feel he goes on the pitch to rub people up the wrong way and he’s known for it now.

“He is probably the most disliked person on the field. One of these days he is going to get beaten up!

“Back in the day things used to happen in the tunnel, but it’s 2024 now and you probably wouldn’t get away with it.”

Antonio then admitted that while Maupay needs to watch his back, he ‘rates’ the striker’s ability to rattle opposing players.

“I’m not going to lie, I rate it! I rate it for him. It’s not something I would do but it’s part of his character, the fact he can just put it on in a game and 90% of the time he knows what he is doing, so it’s a skill that he has.”

However, Antonio does think that at some point, someone could snap and put Maupay ‘in trouble’ at half-time or at the end of a game.

“But there is going to be a day where someone is not going to have it and at half-time or at the end of the game he’s going to be in trouble. He better start practising kickboxing!”

DON‘T MISS: Seven classy players Everton could lose if relegated this season: Man Utd target, Arsenal linked midfielder…