How a reunion with scout Bompastor solved Chelsea's striker issue

Thousands of miles from home, a 14-year-old had an encounter that would change her life.

Nestled in a forest about an hour from Paris is France's national football academy at Clairefontaine. Famous for developing global stars such as Kylian Mbappe and Thierry Henry, it is also where a teenage Melvine Malard first met Sonia Bompastor in 2014.

Malard had travelled from Reunion Island, a French overseas territory in the Indian Ocean, to play in a football tournament. Watching from the sidelines was a titan of French football.

Bompastor, a two-time Champions League winner who had become Lyon's head of youth development, spotted the young forward and persuaded her to move to mainland France.

Twelve years later, the pair have been reunited at Chelsea. After joining from Manchester United in July, Malard has already established herself as a key player.

It took just six appearances for the 26-year-old to match her six-goal tally from last season's Women's Super League, helping fill the void left by Sam Kerr's departure.

"I knew she had the potential to be a really good player," Bompastor tells BBC Sport. "Having known her for so long and all the hard work she has put in, I'm really proud of her."

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