On Ligue 1’s official X account, Rennes striker Estéban Lepaul is nicknamed “the French Vardy”. Like the Leicester City legend, the 25-year-old is a late bloomer, a ruthless finisher and a player that most clubs didn’t really take their chances on during his youth days.

Lepaul found himself under the radar until he scored 12 goals in 16 games in the third-tier National 1 for Epinal two years ago. He then stepped up and joined Ligue 2 side Angers SCO, who were on their way to gaining promotion. The following season, Le SCO were odds-on to fall back into Ligue 2 due to their poor finances and the limited quality of their squad, but they had Lepaul.

The son of Fabrice Lepaul, a professional winger who won Ligue 1 with Auxerre in 1996, played a crucial role in helping Angers stay above the relegation zone with nine goals. Unlike Vardy, whose primary trait was his relentless running, Lepaul knows exactly where, when, and how to run. In that regard, it would make more sense to call him the “French Thomas Müller.”

“We always hear that a striker is attracted to the ball, (but) if you look closely, Esteban Lepaul is attracted to the space that will allow him to follow up with a first touch with spontaneity. He has this ability to adjust to the trajectory of the ball, but also to understand the space he needs to be in the best possible position,” said his manager at Rennes, Habib Beye.

Beye is full of praise for the striker Les Rouge et Noir snatched off Angers in the summer. Despite Rennes’ struggles at the start of the season, Lepaul positioned himself as the one constant that never attracted criticism. Against Strasbourg, he netted his first senior hat-trick thanks to his killer touch and his remarkable positioning. 

Only Greenwood has more goal contributions than Lepaul

Lepaul has made a habit of tormenting Liam Rosenior’s Alsaciens. He scored seven goals against them in 2025, and the Briton showed his appreciation by playfully faking to strangle him before hugging him following his hat-trick. “He came to apologise, but he didn’t have to,” Rosenior said. “He’s done fantastically, he’s a great striker.”

According to Beye, Lepaul is particularly adept at shooting when the goalkeepers least expect him to do so. “He’s even better than I thought. In front of the goal, he’s a real killer. He is a player who is drawn to scoring goals in training, who lives for that and who has an exceptional work ethic.”

Beye already took notice of Lepaul when he was the manager of then third-tier side Red Star. The 25-year-old has logged 12 goal contributions in 16 Ligue 1 games; only Marseille’s Mason Greenwood has more.