PROFILE | A Year of highs and lows for Everton target Georges Mikautadze | OneFootball

Georges Mikautadze’s move to Ajax didn’t quite work out as he would have hoped with goals and a starting place hard to come by. However, with the prospect of a return to Metz on loan in January, the Georgian international’s fortunes quickly turned around. The Lorraine outfit had a difficult start to last season after being promoted back to Ligue 1. Signing Mikautadze at the turn of the year boosted the moods of those associated with Les Grenats, and with the club outside of the relegation zone, their chances looked good.

Returning to his former club, the 24-year-old took to life back in France like a duck to water. Looking to keep his side in the French top flight, the striker found goalscoring form like no one else in France. In the second half of the season, the Lyon-born forward scored 13 goals in 20 appearances – a tally that could not be beaten by anyone including Kylian Mbappé. He also contributed four assists but despite his best efforts his 17 goal contributions were not enough for Metz to avoid the drop.

Although the season ended in disappointment, Mikautadze was able to carry his end-of-season form into EURO 2024 while representing Georgia. The striker scored three goals in four appearances during the competition and was able to help his nation pull off a surprise by qualifying for the knockout stages. The Round of 16 was one step too far for the Eastern European side as they met the competition’s winners Spain, but Mikautadze and his teammates could be proud of a historic 2-0 victory against Portugal.

Back down to earth for Mikautadze at OL

His impressive goalscoring record and with Metz relegated, attracted the interest of several clubs in France. Monaco, Rennes and Lens all showed an interest in signing the Georgian but it was the emotional return to Lyon which pulled on the heartstrings of the former Ajax attacker. OL paid €18.5m to sign the striker who previously played in the club’s academy.

Life back in Lyon started slowly for him, faced with the task of displacing club captain Alexandre Lacazette as the starting striker, opportunities and regular minutes have been limited. Yet, as the season has gone on, Mikautadze has started to find the back of the net and with the former Arsenal striker’s contract coming to an end in June 2025, this should see the forward tasked with leading the line for his hometown club come the start of next season.

GFFN | Liam Wraith