Johnny Phillips: Maupay the villain? Oh yes he is, oh no he isn’t

His strike partner Ivan Toney believes they “know what we need to do to get in people’s heads to help win games”.

On the evidence of their partnership since Maupay’s return to the club for a second spell and Toney’s return from his FA ban, those comments ring true.

“Playing up front with him is interesting,” Toney continued. “We both know what we need to do to win, and we both know what we need to do to rattle people, to get in people’s heads, and to help win games.”

In their first game together, both players scored crucial goals in a 3-2 home win over Nottingham Forest in January which brought an end to a five-game losing streak in the Premier League.

They repeated the feat in the next league game against Spurs, although on this occasion the Bees were on the wrong end of a five-goal thriller.

And in every league game since then, either one or the other has scored a goal, up until the blank against champions Manchester City on Tuesday night.

On that occasion, Maupay was a substitute and had to wait until more than an hour had passed before getting onto the pitch at the Etihad Stadium. Just a few minutes later he was clattered into by City defender Kyle Walker.

Retribution? Of course it was. A couple of weeks earlier in the previous meeting between the two sides this season, Maupay had riled his opponent with alleged disparaging remarks about Walker’s marital status, which has recently been in the news. So much so that the England defender complained to the match officials.

Maupay is not just a tenacious opponent but he has a sharp sense of humour, does not take himself too seriously off the pitch and enjoys the game to the full.

During the recent Spurs game he mimicked the celebration of James Maddison after scoring a goal and it clearly got under the skin of the England midfielder.

He did not have the last laugh on that occasion, but in many respects that did not matter, it was simply about enjoying the moment.

The Frenchman hails from Versailles and while he lacks the all-conquering vanity of the town’s most famous former resident, Louis XIV, there is an indefatigable self-belief that has served Maupay well during his long career in England.

Arriving in 2017 from Saint Etienne, he proved to be a hit at Griffin Park and his second season ended with both Players’ and Supporters’ Player of the Year honours.

A record £20million move to Brighton followed before heading up to the north-west for a spell with troubled Everton.

His time at Goodison Park did not go well and it was a left-field move from Thomas Frank to bring him back to West London on a season-long loan.

Back where he is loved most, it has been a great reunion and Maupay is enjoying his football once more.

He understands his privileged position and throughout his career has always given engaging and thoughtful interviews.

His sense of responsibility to the community he serves is acute to, as illustrated by his recent visit to Brentford Penguins FC, the club’s Down’s Syndrome team.

A recent celebration during the match with Wolves at the Brentford Community Stadium was done in honour of those players and after the game he sought one of them out for a hug in the stands.

It would seem a natural progression for the loan spell at Brentford to become permanent in the summer. Maupay’s value on and off the pitch has been an important part of his two spells at the club.

He knows that a footballer’s career is a short one and intends to wring every drop from it. And if that means winding up one or two opponents along the way then so be it.

To lean on the oft-used Oscar Wilde quote, there is only one thing worse than being talked about and that is not being talked about.

Neal Maupay is definitely making his mark.