Mikael Yann Mathieu Mandron (born 11 October 1994) is a French professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a striker for club St Mirren. Mandron joined the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

from the French lower leagues in the summer of 2011. He completed his two-year scholarship before making his

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

debut in April 2013. He joined League Two side

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Established in 1997, the current Flee ...

on loan in 2014 and spent time on loan at fellow League Two club

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

in 2015. He had a final loan at

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

in late 2015 before being released by Sunderland in summer 2016. He signed for

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

side

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

, where his performances earned the attention of

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

, signing in January 2017. He then signed for League Two club

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

in July 2017. He made 95 appearances for Colchester before his release in summer 2019, then spent a season at Gillingham and two seasons at

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

Club career

Sunderland

Born in

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

, France, Mandron attended the Clairefontaine Academy like compatriots

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (; born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, sports broadcaster and former player. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time and widely regarded as the greatest player in Premi ...

and

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (born 14 March 1979) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. As a player, he regularly featur ...

. He came through the youth ranks at

, for whom he had played since the age of seven. He joined

in the summer of 2011 at the age of 16 on a two-year scholarship. Following an injury to Steven Fletcher, Mandron was called into training with the first team in March 2013. On 29 April, Mandron made his professional debut against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

, coming on as an 85th-minute substitute and replacing

Danny Graham Daniel Graham (born 1978) is an American football player. Daniel Graham may also refer to: * Bob Graham (born 1936), Daniel Robert Graham, American politician * Daniel O. Graham (1926–1995), American general and political activist * Danny Graha ...

in a 6–1 defeat. With first-team opportunities limited at Sunderland, on 7 January 2014 Mandron agreed to join League Two club

until the end of the season. He made his debut on 11 January in a 1–0 win over

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club (), often known simply as Dagenham and abbreviated when written to Dag & Red, is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England that play in the , the sixth level of the En ...

. He then scored his first professional goal on 1 February 2014, in a 2–1 loss to

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

. He went on to make 13 appearances before returning to his parent club in March 2014. On 28 January 2015, Mandron signed on a youth loan for League Two side

until the end of the season. He made his Shrewsbury debut three days later, in a 1–0 win over Newport County. He made three appearances for the club. On 13 November 2015, Mandron joined League Two side

on loan until 2 January 2016. He made his Hartlepool debut against

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

on 15 November in a 3–1 win. He scored his second career goal on 15 December in Hartlepool's

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

second round replay against Salford City. He scored in the 120th-minute of the game after the match ended 0–0. After picking up a groin strain, Hartlepool ended his loan early in late December after the striker had scored one goal in seven appearances. Sunderland announced in April 2016 that Mandron would be one of four players to be released at the end of the season on the expiry of his contract.

Eastleigh

side

signed Mandron on a two-year contract on 14 June 2016 following his release by Sunderland. He had previously been linked with a move to

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

side

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...

. He made his Eastleigh debut on 6 August, starting in their 2–1 win against

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is an area in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-west ...

before being replaced in the 84th minute. He scored his first goals for the club on 29 August with a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

against

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

. After scoring 15 goals in 33 games for Eastleigh, he was linked with a move back to the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

after

side

had an undisclosed offer accepted by Eastleigh.

Wigan Athletic

On 31 January 2017,

signed Mandron on a -year contract for an undisclosed fee. He came off the bench to make his Wigan debut on 21 February in their 2–1 defeat at

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

. He made one start and two substitute appearances before the end of the campaign.

Colchester United

After making only three appearances for Wigan, Mandron moved to League Two club

for an undisclosed fee on 21 July 2017, signing a two-year contract. He made his Colchester debut on 5 August in their 3–1 defeat at

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

. He scored his first Colchester goal on 12 August with the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

. He was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

for the first time in his professional career when he handled the ball in the penalty area during Colchester's 3–1 defeat at

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

on 16 September. He was named in the 'EFL Team of the Week' after scoring two goals against

which brought his tally to four goals in his last five games. He was nominated for the EFL League Two Player of the Month award after scoring four goals in five games during the month of October.

Gillingham

On the expiry of his contract in summer 2019, Mandron was released by Colchester United, and subsequently joined Gillingham. He scored his first goal for Gillingham in an

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

tie against former club

on 3 September 2019. He scored six goals during the 2019–20 season, including a brace at former club

on 7 March 2020 in what would be the last game the Kent side played before the season was curtailed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Crewe Alexandra

Mandron joined Crewe Alexandra in August 2020 on a 12-month contract, and made his Crewe debut in a 1–2 defeat by Lincoln City in the first round of the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

at Gresty Road on 5 September. He scored his first two Crewe goals in the next fixture, a 3–2 victory at

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

in an

group game on 8 September 2020. In February 2021, Mandron signed a contract through to the summer of 2022. He scored twice in Crewe's final game of the season, a 3–2 win over

at Gresty Road, taking his season's tally in all competitions to 14, and making him Crewe's top scorer of the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season. Crewe struggled the following season but Mandron was again the club's leading scorer, with nine goals in all competitions, before incurring a knee injury against Gillingham at Priestfield on 1 February 2022, potentially sidelining him for "an extended period", though a subsequent scan proved it to be less serious than initially feared. He finished the season as joint top scorer, with 10 goals (level with

Chris Long Christopher Howard Long (born March 28, 1985) is an American former professional football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. The son of Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long and older brother of NFL ...

), but following Crewe's relegation to League Two, Mandron confirmed in May 2022 that he would not be extending his contract at the club.

Gillingham

Mandron returned to Gillingham on 11 July 2022. He scored the first goal of his second spell with the club in a

fixture against AFC Wimbledon on 9 August 2022. In the third round of the same competition Mandron scored an equalising header and in the penalty shootout as Gillingham knocked out

side

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

, helping the Kent side to reach the fourth round of the competition for the first time since 1996.

Motherwell

In January 2023, Mandron agreed to the termination of his contract with Gillingham and shortly afterwards signed for

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

of the

. He scored his first two goals for the club in a

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland, Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast, some east-northeast of ...

International career

Eligible to represent

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

at international level, Mandron was called up to the Scotland under-20 team in May 2013. He qualifies to play for Scotland through an

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

-born grandparent.

Style of play

Possessing a big physique, striker Mandron uses this trait to back into

defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: * Defense (military) * Defense (sports) ** Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre Film * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The D ...

, collect the ball by dropping deeper into the

midfield In many sports, midfield is the part of a sports field that is near the line that is equally far from the end lines. That is, in American football it is the part of the field near the 50-yard line; in association football (soccer) and field hoc ...

, and hold the ball up, with the ability to win headers from set-plays.

Personal life

Mandron supported

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

when growing up, while he also followed the results of

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mandron, Mikael 1994 births Living people category:Sportspeople from Boulogne-Billancourt Footballers from Hauts-de-Seine French men's footballers Men's association football forwards Sunderland A.F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Eastleigh F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players St Mirren F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players National League (English football) players French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in England French people of Scottish descent French expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland 21st-century French sportsmen