Home
He arrived at Wanderers looking more like a pauper – but Prince Desire-Gouano has quickly gone about making himself king of Wanderers’ castle.
The French defender admits he turned up hideously unprepared for a stay in England before being rushed into a debut against Derby County on the opening day of the season.
Neil Lennon had been forced to find emergency reinforcements after losing Derik Osede to injury in the final pre-season friendly and reached out to his European connections to pluck the young defender from Italian club Atalanta on a season-long loan.
But the speed of the deal caught Prince by surprise – and his first few days in the club’s hotel were a bit of a blur.
“Yes I had no clothes,” laughed the defender as he spoke to The Bolton News after Friday night’s 0-0 draw against Blackburn Rovers.
“My manager said ‘Prince we’re going to England, from France, and so I only needed to take clothes for two days.
“I didn’t think everything would go so quickly. I had nothing.
“After one day I was on the pitch. I came to Bolton and trained then played in a game. It is good I now have some clothes.”
Prince’s suitcase eventually caught up with him and he has lived out of the club’s hotel for the last few weeks.
That shouldn’t be an inconvenience for the Parisian defender, who has spent much of his career so far on the road with the likes of Rio Ave, RKC Waalwijk and Vicenza.
But the 21-year-old is preparing to bring his pregnant girlfriend over to England and set up a home after enjoying his first few weeks at Wanderers.
A permanent deal has yet to be discussed – and with so many question marks hanging over the club’s financial situation, it seems unlikely it will be any time soon. But the Frenchman has been delighted with the welcome he has been given at his new club.
“I love the fans. When I play I feel that love and that is why I like to play for Bolton,” he said.
“I have played in many countries – Holland, Portugal, Italy. I have learned to adapt myself quickly.
“For me it is not a problem.
“When Bolton contacted my agent he told me that the manager was really interested to sign me. When I knew this was Neil Lennon I wanted to come right away. I didn’t think too much.
“I knew the story at Bolton. They are a big club.”
Wanderers’ defence got a thorough examination on Friday night at Ewood Park but Prince was pleased to come away with a point.
“For me, because we were not at home, we must make sure we did not lose,” he said. “It was a difficult game but if you want my opinion, I think it was a good result.
“Everyone knew before the game it was important. It is a derby. We had to play as a team.
“If I played well then it is because my partners helped me.”
Prince has forged a decent bond with fellow Frenchman Dorian Dervite since arriving at the Macron but after the former Charlton Athletic man picked up a needless red card in the closing stages at Rovers – meaning he will miss out on the next game against Wolves – he will now need to adapt to another partner in central defence.
“I like to play with Dorian at centre-back because we have good communication and he is a good player too,” he said.
“Red cards can happen. He takes a red card this time but maybe next time it is me? We both come from that game looking to improve and make sure we don’t get a red card again.
“But playing with another player is no problem for me. We have good players here at Bolton.”
Though things have not gone well in an attacking sense, Lennon has no complaints with the way his side have defended since the start of the season, excluding an horrific first half at Middlesbrough.
“I think Prince has made a difference, I think (Dean) Moxey is in his best form since he came here and we’ve got a goalkeeper who makes his back four calm. His handling has been superb,” he said.
“Lawrie (Wilson) has been a steady Eddie and Dorian has been playing out of his skin.
“The two in front of them have worked their tails off. (Neil) Danns got through a lot of work and Mark Davies has been excellent. He’s playing very well at the moment.”
Source
The French defender admits he turned up hideously unprepared for a stay in England before being rushed into a debut against Derby County on the opening day of the season.
Neil Lennon had been forced to find emergency reinforcements after losing Derik Osede to injury in the final pre-season friendly and reached out to his European connections to pluck the young defender from Italian club Atalanta on a season-long loan.
But the speed of the deal caught Prince by surprise – and his first few days in the club’s hotel were a bit of a blur.
“Yes I had no clothes,” laughed the defender as he spoke to The Bolton News after Friday night’s 0-0 draw against Blackburn Rovers.
“My manager said ‘Prince we’re going to England, from France, and so I only needed to take clothes for two days.
“I didn’t think everything would go so quickly. I had nothing.
“After one day I was on the pitch. I came to Bolton and trained then played in a game. It is good I now have some clothes.”
Prince’s suitcase eventually caught up with him and he has lived out of the club’s hotel for the last few weeks.
That shouldn’t be an inconvenience for the Parisian defender, who has spent much of his career so far on the road with the likes of Rio Ave, RKC Waalwijk and Vicenza.
But the 21-year-old is preparing to bring his pregnant girlfriend over to England and set up a home after enjoying his first few weeks at Wanderers.
A permanent deal has yet to be discussed – and with so many question marks hanging over the club’s financial situation, it seems unlikely it will be any time soon. But the Frenchman has been delighted with the welcome he has been given at his new club.
“I love the fans. When I play I feel that love and that is why I like to play for Bolton,” he said.
“I have played in many countries – Holland, Portugal, Italy. I have learned to adapt myself quickly.
“For me it is not a problem.
“When Bolton contacted my agent he told me that the manager was really interested to sign me. When I knew this was Neil Lennon I wanted to come right away. I didn’t think too much.
“I knew the story at Bolton. They are a big club.”
Wanderers’ defence got a thorough examination on Friday night at Ewood Park but Prince was pleased to come away with a point.
“For me, because we were not at home, we must make sure we did not lose,” he said. “It was a difficult game but if you want my opinion, I think it was a good result.
“Everyone knew before the game it was important. It is a derby. We had to play as a team.
“If I played well then it is because my partners helped me.”
Prince has forged a decent bond with fellow Frenchman Dorian Dervite since arriving at the Macron but after the former Charlton Athletic man picked up a needless red card in the closing stages at Rovers – meaning he will miss out on the next game against Wolves – he will now need to adapt to another partner in central defence.
“I like to play with Dorian at centre-back because we have good communication and he is a good player too,” he said.
“Red cards can happen. He takes a red card this time but maybe next time it is me? We both come from that game looking to improve and make sure we don’t get a red card again.
“But playing with another player is no problem for me. We have good players here at Bolton.”
Though things have not gone well in an attacking sense, Lennon has no complaints with the way his side have defended since the start of the season, excluding an horrific first half at Middlesbrough.
“I think Prince has made a difference, I think (Dean) Moxey is in his best form since he came here and we’ve got a goalkeeper who makes his back four calm. His handling has been superb,” he said.
“Lawrie (Wilson) has been a steady Eddie and Dorian has been playing out of his skin.
“The two in front of them have worked their tails off. (Neil) Danns got through a lot of work and Mark Davies has been excellent. He’s playing very well at the moment.”
Source