Elye Wahi

Elye Wahi

Wahi in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Sepe Elye Delmas Wahi
Date of birth	(2003-01-02) 2 January 2003 (age 21)
Place of birth	Courcouronnes, France
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) [1]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Lens
Number	9
Youth career
2009–2016	Suresnes
2016–2018	Caen
2018	Montfermeil
2018–2020	Montpellier
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2020	Montpellier II	11	(3)
2020–2023	Montpellier	85	(32)
2023–	Lens	22	(7)
International career‡
2019	France U16	2	(0)
2019	France U17	1	(0)
2021–2022	France U19	10	(4)
2023	France U20	2	(0)
2022–	France U21	13	(3)
2024–	France U23	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:14, 29 March 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:26, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

Sepe Elye Delmas Wahi (born 2 January 2003) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Lens.

Early life

Sepe Elye Delmas Wahi ^[2] was born on 2 January 2003 ^[3] in Courcouronnes, Essonne. ^[4] He is of Ivorian descent. ^[5]

Club career

Caen

While a youth player at Caen, Wahi made headlines for scoring 89 goals in the 2016–17 season as an under-14 and under-15 player. ^{[5] [6]}

Montpellier

On 17 October 2019, Wahi signed his first professional contract with Montpellier. ^[7] He made his professional debut in a 2–0 Ligue 1 loss to Metz on 16 December 2020. ^[8]

Wahi scored his first goal for Montpellier in a 3–2 loss to Monaco on 15 January 2021. In doing so, he became the club's second-youngest ever goal scorer at the age of 18 years and 13 days. ^[9] On 14 March 2022, Wahi signed a contract extension at Montpellier. ^[10] On 29 December 2022, by scoring his twentieth career Ligue 1 goal in a 2–0 away win over Lorient, Wahi became only the second teenager after Kylian Mbappé to reach this milestone in the previous forty years. ^[11] He quickly became the second youngest player in the history of Ligue 1 to reach the landmark of 25 goals in the competition. ^[12] On 7 May 2023, he scored four goals in fifteen minutes for Montpellier in a 5–4 away defeat to Lyon. ^[13]

Lens

On 20 August 2023, Wahi signed a five-year contract with Lens following a €35 million transfer from Montpellier. ^[14] The deal became Lens's record arrival, Montpellier's record sale, and the second-biggest transfer between two Ligue 1 clubs. ^[15] On the same day, he was presented to the Stade Bollaert-Delelis ahead of a match against Rennes, holding his new number 9 shirt. ^[16] On 29 September, he scored his first goal at the club in a 1–0 away win over Strasbourg. ^[17] On 3 October, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal and provided an assist in a 2–1 home victory over Arsenal, winning the player of the match award. ^[18]

International career

Wahi is a youth international for France. He had a single cap with France U17, where he played against Italy U17 on 3 December 2019. The match ended in a 1–1 draw.^{[ citation needed ]}

With France U19, he scored a goal against England U19 on 6 October 2021, in a 3–1 win. He then also scored in the next game against Mexico U19, which ended in a 4–1 victory.^{[ citation needed ]}

In September 2022, Wahi was called up for the first time with France U21 by manager Sylvain Ripoll. ^[19] He went on to score his first goal on his second cap for the national side against Belgium U21. ^[20]

Controversies

In October 2021, a 22-year old woman filed a legal complaint against Wahi for violence that resulted in her being incapable to work. She claimed that he had punched her in the nose during an evening out at the L'Entrepôt nightclub in Lattes, Hérault, on the night of 12–13 September a month earlier. ^[21]

In November 2021, investigative reporter Romain Molina revealed an allegation that Wahi had been expelled from Caen's youth academy for pressuring secondary school students to masturbate in front of him in the bathrooms. ^{[22] [6]}

Career statistics

As of match played 29 March 2024 ^[3]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Coupe de France		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Montpellier II	2018–19	Championnat National 3	1	0	—		—		1	0
	2019–20	Championnat National 2	7	1	—		—		7	1
	2020–21	Championnat National 3	3	2	—		—		3	2
	Total		11	3	—		—		11	3
Montpellier	2020–21	Ligue 1	18	3	4	0	—		22	3
	2021–22	Ligue 1	33	10	3	0	—		36	10
	2022–23	Ligue 1	33	19	0	0	—		33	19
	2023–24	Ligue 1	1	0	—		—		1	0
	Total		85	32	7	0	—		92	32
Lens	2023–24	Ligue 1	22	7	1	0	8 [lower-alpha 1]	3	31	10
Career total			118	42	8	0	8	3	134	45

1. Six appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, two appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Individual

• Ligue 1 Goal of the Year: 2022–23 ^[23]

References

1. "Elye Wahi" (in French). RC Lens. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
2. "Olympique Lyonnais 5–4 Montpellier HSC" (in French). French Football Federation. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
3. "E. Wahi: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
4. "Sepe Elye Wahi". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
5. "Meet 14-year-old SM Caen forward Elye Wahi, who scored 89 goals last season". www.getfootballnewsfrance.com. 27 September 2017.
6. Tarayre, Romain (23 December 2021). "The Dark Side of the "Beautiful" Game". The Spectator. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
7. "MHSC : Elye Wahi, 16 ans et déjà pro !". Gazette live.
8. "Montpellier vs. Metz - 16 December 2020". Soccerway.
9. "Elye Wahi, 2e plus jeune buteur de l'histoire du club | MHSC Foot , billetterie Montpellier Hérault, mhsc match, match Montpellier, led publicitaire, panneau publicitaire led". www.mhscfoot.com. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
10. "Elye Wahi extends contract with Montpellier". Get French Football News. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
11. Béal, Xavier (29 December 2022). "Lorient-Montpellier : Elye Wahi égale un record de Kylian Mbappé". Goal (in French). Retrieved 29 December 2022.
12. Maurice, Nicolas (20 March 2023). "Wahi, toujours lui". Esprit Paillade (in French). Retrieved 18 April 2023.
13. "L'OL arrache une victoire complètement folle face à Montpellier (5-4)" (in French). L'Équipe. 7 May 2023.
14. "Transferts : l'attaquant Elye Wahi signe cinq ans à Lens". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 20 August 2023.
15. à 20h55, Par Le Parisien Le 20 août 2023 (20 August 2023). "Mercato : Elye Wahi signe son contrat avec Lens au stade Bollaert-Delelis avant le match contre Rennes". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 20 August 2023.
16. Media365 (20 August 2023). "Lens : Elye Wahi présenté devant le public de Bollaert (officiel)". Orange Actualités (in French). Retrieved 20 August 2023.
17. "Striker Elye Wahi's goal gives Lens a 1-0 win at Strasbourg in French league". AP News. 29 September 2023.
18. "Wahi stars with goal and assist as Lens beats Arsenal 2-1 in Champions League". AP News. 3 October 2023.
19. Wojtowicz, Luka (14 November 2022). "Elye Wahi convoqué de dernière minute avec les Bleus Espoirs". Esprit Paillade (in French). Retrieved 18 April 2023.
20. Waked, Nicolas (26 September 2022). "Elye Wahi buteur avec les Espoirs !". Esprit Paillade (in French). Retrieved 18 April 2023.
21. Lengronne, Victor (9 October 2021). "Montpellier : le joueur du MHSC Elye Wahi accusé de violences par une femme qui a déposé plainte" [Montpellier: the MHSC player Elye Wahi accused of violence by a woman who has filed a complaint]. France Info (in French). Retrieved 13 June 2022.
22. Lenormand, Maxime (19 November 2021). "Romain Molina dévoile les raisons qui auraient poussé Caen à renvoyer Elye Wahi". Malherbe-inside.fr (in French). Retrieved 29 December 2022.
23. "Trophées UNFP : le plus beau but de Ligue 1 révélé". Onze Mondial (in French). 28 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.

External links

• Profile in the RC Lens (in French)
• Elye Wahi at the French Football Federation (in French)
• Elye Wahi – UEFA competition record ( archive )