The 27-year-old has praised the Senegalese after his eye-catching performance in his first game for the Olympians
Marseille forward Florian Thauvin has hailed the club’s latest signing Pape Gueye after scoring on his debut against Pinzgau Saalfelden on Sunday.
The Senegalese delivered an impressive performance in the encounter, scoring his first goal for the Olympians to help them clinch a 5-1 victory over Pinzgau in a pre-season friendly.
The 21-year-old teamed up with Andre Villas-Boas’ men on July 2 as a free agent following the expiration of his contract with Le Havre.
In April, Premier League club Watford announced the signing of the defensive midfielder on a five-year deal only for him to make a U-turn.
A number of French clubs like Angers, Rennes, Metz and Nantes were reportedly interested to sign him before opting to join the Olympians.
After seeing his performance, Thauvin has praised the young midfielder and backed him to be a success at Stade Velodrome.
“He has shown the full extent of his talent. Now OM is something else. You have to work a lot, but I'm not worried about him, he will succeed here," Thauvin told L'Equipe.
Gueye started his career with the Blanc-Mesnil SF academy before joining Le Havre's youth setup in 2012 and was promoted to the first team four years later.
The midfielder featured in 39 league games for Le Havre, including 25 in Ligue 2 in the 2019-20 season before his departure.
Gueye has played for France U18 and U19 but he is still eligible to feature for the Senegal national team, provided he agrees to switch allegiance to the West Africans.
He will hope to continue his fine performances during Marseille’s pre-season games to boost his chances of enjoying playing time when the 2020-21 season gets underway.