Ipswich Town ace Idris El Mizouni hails Kieron Dyer and Nando’s for helping him feel at home
IDRIS EL MIZOUNI finally feels at home at Ipswich thanks to Kieron Dyer's mentorship - and a cheeky Nando's!
The extra-hot Tractor Boys midfielder, 21, has enjoyed a meteoric rise since growing up in a gritty suburb on the outskirts of Paris.
As a kid he lived in a flat with his dad, who emigrated from Tunisia at the age of eight, mum, brother and sister in a bustling, high-rise apartment block.
El Mizouni was scouted for Ipswich at 16 and arrived in Suffolk not speaking a word of English. But now he has become part of the furniture.
In his first interview since recently penning a new deal with the club until 2024, he told SunSport: "Don't even get me started on the food. To this day, I'm still not used to it.
"France is known for great food and so when I came to England in my first year I was struggling a lot.
"I was living in digs and they made food which was all right but Nando's was the only thing I really liked. I'd get chicken with peri-tamer sauce and rice. I don't mind the carbs!
"I missed my mum's food but thankfully I can cook now and, of course, my signature is chicken and rice!"
The suburbs of Paris have produced a number of star players, including Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe.
El Mizouni added: "When you watch the French national team, most of them come from the suburbs, they didn't have a lot.
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"A lot of them had money struggles and were crammed into a flat with many siblings with a single mother.
"Football is often the only thing that makes kids from the suburbs happy and I think that turns them into incredible players."
El Mizouni was just one of eight players who were kept on by Ipswich's new owners, Gamechanger 20, following their £40million takeover in April earlier this year.
Boss Paul Cook told the vast majority of his squad they were not in his plans and were free to leave in the summer amid a transfer bloodbath.
But it has not always been smoothsailing in Suffolk for El Mizouni.
At first, the Tunisia international was played out of position, plagued by injuries and was eventually shipped out on loan.
And he credits Ipswich's Under-23s boss Dyer for keeping him on the straight and narrow.
He said: "Dyer's been unbelievable on and off the pitch. He coached me in my second year with Adam Atay, who was great as well.
"Straight away he put me in my position at No 8 as a central midfielder. He is a great coach and tactically I learned a lot with him.
"I speak to him often and even when I was on loan, he still texted me asking how I was. He helped me a lot and I appreciate that."
El Mizouni made his Ipswich debut in March 2019 but has often struggled for regular first-team action.
The schemer was sent out on loan to Cambridge United in the 2019-20 campaign, before suffering a serious knee injury just before the first coronavirus lockdown.
He was holed up with his family in a flat in Paris, doing his rehab on his knee using books for weights.
El Mizouni was then shipped back to the U's in September 2020, followed by a stint at Grimsby early this year.
He continued: "The second time I went to Cambridge, I was so angry and frustrated because when you go somewhere you want to play but I was on the bench.
"Dyer called me saying, 'What's wrong with you? You're not fit. You don't look sharp'.
"He was basically getting on to me to make me better.
"He said, 'Even if you're not playing, you need to do extra work, extra running, you need to be careful of your diet'.
"That helped me because, after that, I came back to Ipswich and I was training with him at the Under-23s and I felt much fitter."
El Mizouni has used the struggles of his past at Ipswich as fuel to fire himself into more regular action.
He has made six first-team appearances this season.
And Cook was left licking his lips when the midfielder sent the club into the second round of the FA Cup with a wonder goal in the 2-1 win over Oldham earlier this month.
Ahead of tomorrow's home game against rock-bottom Crewe, El Mizouni said: "It was so great to sign my new deal because I'm a Paris boy who has grown up in Ipswich.
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"We know how big the club is. I'm comfortable with everyone, the players, the staff and even the chef now! Everyone is great.
"It's such a good feeling to sign again because the club wants promotion and to get bigger, and I'm going to be a part of that."