Myron Boadu’s first season at Monaco has been one of trial and error. The young attacker left his trusted Alkmaar behind and left for the microstate on the Mediterranean Sea. In conversation with Get French Football News the ex-striker of AZ tells, among other things, about the difficult period he went through in France, where he slowly crawled out again with the help of fellow striker Wissam Ben Yedder. “I have become myself again.”
The switch from Alkmaar to Monaco has not yet been an easy one for the international of the Dutch Juniors. Shortly after his switch, the striker struggled to keep up with the physical play of the French Ligue 1. “It is not normal how strong the defenders are here, and that while I consider myself a fairly strong player. That was really the thing that took the most getting used to for me.” The 21-year-old striker struggled to find the net in his first months, something he hadn’t experienced before. “I expected that I would need time to adapt, but I also expected that I would continue to score my goals every game, like in the Netherlands. It was difficult for me to deal with the fact that I didn’t score goals after my switch.”
Boadu was not going to give up. The fast forward teamed up with a number of young teammates to boost his physique. “In training, I simulated match situations together with Benoît Badiashile, Axel Disasi and Aurélien Tchouaméni. All those guys are very strong and that made it easier for me to adapt to the game being asked of me by Ligue 1.” It becomes clear when his trainer speaks at the press conference that Boadu was physically less strong in his early days at the French club than he is now. “This week we played a three-on-three match as the final practice of our tough training. A few months ago, Boadu was already shattered for such a match, but when I whistled for the end of practice, Myron said to me: ‘Coach, it can’t be done already. You said it was going to be a tough workout.”
Where the striker could not only support his physically strong teammates, he could also support his colleague striker. “Ben Yedder is a fantastic player and a fantastic person. For me it was important to have a top striker in front of me. I’m glad he’s my teammate. Every training session I watch what he does, how he does it and I try to add that to my own game,” Boadu raves about his competitor for the striker position. Ben Yedder recently broke his personal best in league goals scored in one season. The 31-year-old Frenchman has scored 21 goals in 33 matches so far and has already scored a total of 69 goals in 120 matches for the club.
Boadu has been getting more and more in shape in recent weeks and seems to have slowly but surely found his place at Monaco. With three goals in his last six matches, the statistics of the Dutchman have also improved a lot. “I think this season has taught me a lot. With the right people around me who give me confidence, I find myself again. Now I want to continue scoring goals.” The talented attacker also briefly expresses his dream. “It’s a dream for me to go to the World Cup, but first I want to continue what I’m doing here. The Dutch national team is still a long way off for me, but everything is possible.” Boadu’s counter stands at six goals in all competitions this season. The youngster made 38 appearances in the first team, the majority of which as a substitute, and scored 6 times.