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Wanderers’ track record with French players has been more hit than miss down the years.
For every Gael Kakuta they had a Youri Djorkaeff or a Nicolas Anelka, for each Gerald Cid there was a Bruno N’Gotty or a Florent Laville.
But the latest Gallic import is well-versed in English football.
Stylish defender Dorian Dervite cut his teeth at Spurs and then spent some time in Spain with Villarreal before returning to Charlton Athletic for two seasons.
And the 25-year-old has made a good impression on his team-mates thus far.
“He’s blended right away,” said fellow defender Matt Mills. “He’s comfortable on the ball, has good short passing and can hit the diagonal ball as well.
“It’s been good to get some minutes alongside him on the pitch, in a real-time game, because when you’re defending in training it’s not always the same intensity.
“Dorian is a top man off the pitch as well so he’s a good character for the dressing room as well.”
Competition for a place at the back is more fierce than anywhere else in the Wanderers squad, with Dervite and Mills battling it out with David Wheater and Tim Ream for two – possibly three – centre-half spots.
“I think the squad at the minute is looking very strong, defensively,” agreed Mills.
“It’s good, healthy competition and the good thing about it is that people are willing to push you hard in training and get on to each other in the right way to improve. That’s going to be very important over the course of a long, hard Championship season.”
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For every Gael Kakuta they had a Youri Djorkaeff or a Nicolas Anelka, for each Gerald Cid there was a Bruno N’Gotty or a Florent Laville.
But the latest Gallic import is well-versed in English football.
Stylish defender Dorian Dervite cut his teeth at Spurs and then spent some time in Spain with Villarreal before returning to Charlton Athletic for two seasons.
And the 25-year-old has made a good impression on his team-mates thus far.
“He’s blended right away,” said fellow defender Matt Mills. “He’s comfortable on the ball, has good short passing and can hit the diagonal ball as well.
“It’s been good to get some minutes alongside him on the pitch, in a real-time game, because when you’re defending in training it’s not always the same intensity.
“Dorian is a top man off the pitch as well so he’s a good character for the dressing room as well.”
Competition for a place at the back is more fierce than anywhere else in the Wanderers squad, with Dervite and Mills battling it out with David Wheater and Tim Ream for two – possibly three – centre-half spots.
“I think the squad at the minute is looking very strong, defensively,” agreed Mills.
“It’s good, healthy competition and the good thing about it is that people are willing to push you hard in training and get on to each other in the right way to improve. That’s going to be very important over the course of a long, hard Championship season.”
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