How striker went from Leicester City scrapheap to Charlton Athletic cult hero – He made Foxes pay
In 2011, Yann Kermorgant, a former striker for Charlton Athletic, traded the King Power Stadium for The Valley, demonstrating to Leicester City what they were lacking.
After leaving Stade Reims in the summer of 2009, the Frenchman joined the Foxes on a free transfer. However, he failed to make an impression in his first season in England and ended the 2009–10 season with just one Championship goal.
Goalie David Marshall easily saved Kermorgant’s effort at a panenka during the penalty shootout that settled the match, and the Bluebirds advanced to Wembley. The striker returned to Leicester in 2011 without receiving a squad number after spending the 2010–11 season on loan at Ligue 1 team Arles-Avignon.
Kermorgant signed for Charlton
“I had a number of offers from clubs in France, but during my time at Leicester City, I had an excellent relationship with Chris Powell,” Kermorgant stated. “Once I met Chris, and discussed his style of play and his ambitions for the club, I felt that Charlton is going to be an exciting place to be over the next few years, and I want to be a part of it.” It was a wise move for Kermorgant to join Charlton, as he scored 12 goals while forming a strong attack partnership with Bradley Wright-Phillips.
The following season, he scored 12 goals and dishevelled nine assists as Charlton achieved their greatest league position since their 2007 Premier League relegation, finishing ninth in the Championship. In addition to his ability to take free kicks, link up play, and finish, Kermorgant’s aerial presence, physicality, and work ethic make him one of the most complete center-forwards to have played for Charlton since the team’s departure from the top flight.
Kermorgant scored several memorable goals during his time in SE7, but he undoubtedly would have enjoyed the ones he netted against Leicester more than any.
Before Kermorgant was mysteriously sold to AFC Bournemouth in January 2014, soon after Roland Duchatelet finished taking over the team, Charlton played the Foxes three times in the Championship.j
The Frenchman showed Leicester what they were missing as he scored every time he faced them, contributing to three 2-1 victories for Charlton, despite the reception he received from the opposing supporters, who had clearly not forgotten his missed penalty at the Cardiff City Stadium in 2010.
“I hear the abuse but I love it,” Kermorgant said to The Telegraph in 2013, just after scoring his third goal against his previous team in a row. “I don’t know why they jeer at me. Perhaps they ought to cease. We continue to win, and I continue to score.”
