Ex-Brighton striker Neal Maupay gets Sevilla staff member in HEADLOCK as new signing demands to see club's social media admin after brutal past trolling incident

Maupay's move to Sevilla offers something of a lifeline after the 29-year-old's career started to stagnate with Les Olympiens. After an initial loan spell from Everton in the 2024-25 season, which saw the outspoken Frenchman score four goals in 22 league appearances for Marseille, he completed a £6 million switch in the summer. However, it quickly became apparent that Maupay would not be a prominent part of manager Roberto De Zerbi's plans, as the club secured the services of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Timothy Weah. He has made just three appearances and netted once so far this term. While several moves away from the club were floated, such as Sassuolo in Italy and PAOK Thessaloniki in Greece, none of them materialised.

The switch has also allowed Maupay to engage in some light-hearted banter with his new colleagues. To announce his arrival, the club dug out a tweet from Marseille and Sevilla's pre-season friendly. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, with Maupay coming on as a late substitute for goalscorer Mason Greenwood.

The tongue-in-cheek post read: "Whenever Neal Maupay comes on and doesn’t score, the social media manager smiles." 

The club used that message as the basis of Maupay's reveal video, with the striker subsequently writing a more positive version of the original message and giving a broad smile, plus a double thumbs up to the camera. 

Maupay took to his personal account, asking to know where the admin's office was, as he just "wanted to talk". A little under an hour later, he got his own back on the club's admin.

While the humorous announcement will have provided Sevilla fans with a laugh, they will be keenly waiting to see how involved Maupay will be in the coming months. Sevilla have struggled this season, with the former Europa League winners currently sitting in 12th place in La Liga. Akor Adams and Isaac Romero have shared leading the line this term, with Adams the club's leading scorer with six goals in all competitions, even though the Nigerian was absent for much of January on AFCON duty. Maupay should get some game time and will have been brought in to provide stiff competition up top for Matias Almeyda's side. 

The Frenchman's first opportunity to impress his new employers could come on 2 February away to Mallorca. His first game in front of the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium is likely to be on 7 February, as Los Nervioneses take on Girona. Given the club's sustained success in Europe over the past two decades, the club will certainly hope their new recruit can help them push on to qualify for next season's continental competitions. Sevilla currently sit eight points adrift of Real Betis in sixth.