Paris Maghoma: Tottenham departure, play-off heartbreak, and crossing the AFC Wimbledon-MK Dons divide | OneFootball

When people say that Brentford help players grow and develop, instinctively, you think that means the club has improved their touch, the accuracy of their passing, or the timing of their runs.

But the things that some won’t see is how the west Londoners shape personalities and aid in a player’s maturity which, if you join the club as an 18-year-old like Paris Maghoma did, is sometimes needed.

The centre-midfielder, now 23, signed for the Bees from Premier League side Tottenham, where he had been for over a decade prior to his move west. Despite this, chatting about his time at Spurs is usually forbidden.

Maghoma reservedly states: “I don’t really talk too much about my time at Tottenham. I have myself to blame, in some aspects; I was immature, I had a bad attitude.

“I regret some of the things I did at Spurs when I had a good chance to stay and develop there. But I didn’t see things for what they were back then. I was young and I made mistakes.

“Everyone will agree that I’m quite lively and a bit loud; I like having banter, but it’s about knowing when the time is right.

“There was one time at Hotspur Way [Tottenham’s training ground], I had just turned 18, we were in the first-team gym and, for about 45 minutes, I’m just messing around while I’m meant to be getting on with my gym programme. I’m doing my exercises half-heartedly - for a set of 10, I’d do three and then just start dancing or whatever.

“This was a week before I was meant to go on a pre-season tour with the first team and, a couple of days later, we had a meeting and John McDermott [Tottenham’s head of academy coaching and player development] got the CCTV and made us watch the footage, highlighting who did it properly and who wasn’t.

“Back then, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, but I look back and just wonder what I was doing - it was so dumb and so stupid. That cost me going on tour with the first team.

“I got angry about it and, after that, I said I didn’t play for the club anymore. From August until December, I played no football, I was on the bench, and I didn’t care.

“I do regret that and sometimes I think, ‘Imagine if I’d listened to him earlier’.

“I’m lucky enough to, now, be here at Brentford in the Premier League, I’m so grateful for it but, to my younger self, I would tell myself to listen to him more, take his advice, and implement it into my everyday life.

“But the penny drops when the penny drops and, luckily, it has dropped for me. I’m getting to the stage when I’m much more mature and, mentally, I have grown so much.”

An example of a much-matured Maghoma has been on display this season when, despite confessing that “sometimes it can get frustrating when all you want to do is play and help the team”, he has shown the patience needed when trying to break into a Premier League starting XI.

More cameos like the one the travelling supporters witnessed at St Mary’s in the 5-0 win against Southampton will certainly help his chances; and, just like the Bees fans, Maghoma admits he’s watched his skilful dribble, which played a part in that game’s fifth goal, “too many times”.

“It’s been a pleasure and an honour to come on for this team and help out whenever I can,” he smiles. “Especially when we beat Southampton; being a big part of Keano [Lewis-Potter]’s goal, you feel more part of it and happy that you’ve contributed to a part of the season.

“I’ve had a lot of talks with Thomas Frank and Phil Giles, as well as other players telling me that they think I have a chance, which is nice to hear. I just need to stay patient, keep fighting, and show the staff that I’m ready to play.

“I’ve been at this club a long time - the team make it so easy to come in every day and be happy - and I do really enjoy being here.”

However, Brentford can’t take all the credit for the man Maghoma has become.

His three loan spells across the EFL have played a monumental part in his growth, starting with AFC Wimbledon in League Two during the first half of the 2022/23 campaign, which the midfielder declares “was the best thing that could have happened” to him.

“To be honest, they’d been relegated the year before and I thought, ‘I don’t want to do this’.

“I called Phil and my agent and I told them I didn’t like it. I think I just wanted the comfort of staying at Brentford. But they pushed me and I ended up signing.

“We didn’t necessarily play the greatest football, but it helped me understand what it takes to win a game sometimes: it’s not always going to be pretty and sometimes you have to defend for your life.

“The feeling in that stadium just made me realise what three points really mean. I was only there for six months but the amount I learnt was insane.”

Maghoma was recalled from his time at Plough Lane in January, which then saw him go and do something that only seven others had done before: play for both AFC Wimbledon to MK Dons.

This move is notable due to the deep-rooted rivalry stemming from the controversial relocation of Wimbledon FC to Milton Keynes in 2002, a decision that led to the formation of AFC Wimbledon by fans seeking to preserve the club's identity.

Maghoma explains: “I got a lot of abuse for it, it was terrible… I still get abuse for it now. To be honest, I didn’t realise what I’d done was so crazy.

“I was just trying to progress in my career; it wasn’t to annoy anyone or rub anyone up the wrong way.

“I wanted to take the step into League One, I wanted to test myself and play in a higher league.

“When I got called back in January, I had no idea where I was going to go and that wasn’t really in my control. It ended up being either Cambridge United or MK Dons, they were the only two teams.

“I had to weigh up what team suited me more, both were in the relegation zone, but MK Dons liked to play football, and that’s what both Brentford and me decided would be best.

“I ended up getting relegated with MK Dons. In our last game, we played Burton Albion, we had 37 shots, and we couldn’t score one goal, that’s all we needed to stay up.

“I had a chance in the final minute and the ball literally zinged just past the post, but, again, that was another learning curve for me.

“It was difficult and it hurt, you bond with everyone, it was a great bunch of guys. Josh McEachran was there, who played for Brentford and also played for Birmingham with Jacques [Maghoma, his older brother, who he speaks about later in the interview], and he took me under his wing a little bit.”

A more successful loan spell in the third tier followed, with Maghoma moving to Bolton Wanderers for the duration of the 2023/24 campaign. He scored eight goals and provided four assists, as the Trotters reached the League One play-off final at Wembley Stadium, before winning the club’s Young Player of the Season award.

The sheer mention of the club prompts this reaction from Maghoma: “Ahh, Bolton… I love Bolton!

“It was so exciting to go up there. And the prospect of playing in front of 25,000/30,000 people? [Maghoma whistles] That’s crazy.

“Being there was so good. I’ve still got friends from my time there that I’m still really close with now, people I speak to every single day.

“Even the fanbase… after a game, I’d go and stand outside for 30 minutes just talking to them. It’s such a tight community; in Bolton, it’s just Bolton, Bolton, Bolton!

“I’d go to the shops, I’m walking down the aisle, and all I’d hear is, ‘PARIS, PARIS!’ from a fan; or I’d order food to my house and the delivery driver would say, ‘Oh yeah, I watched the game the other day, I thought we should have won’. I loved stuff like that.

“That season was the best chance the club had to get promoted to the Championship in a long time… that play-off final was such a sad day.”

Bolton lost 2-0 to Oxford United at Wembley Stadium, having finished third, five points from the automatic promotion spots and 10 clear of their opposition that day.

Maghoma was replaced just after half-time due to an injury picked up from a strong challenge by Sam Long, which was wrongly remembered as having happened a few minutes into the game.

“Minutes?! He clattered my foot 45 seconds in,” Meghoma corrects.

“From the time he tackled me, I was done. I heard it and I felt it. I did my ATFL, CFL [ligament damage] and then I had bleeding and bruising all around my Achilles.

“I initially came off and told the doc, ‘I’m not coming off, I have to carry on, I have to’. I told him to give me all the medication he could. He gave me six pills, it was hot that day, and I just chucked them all in, chewed them up, and tried to go back out there.

“I tried to play on, but then I came in for half-time and the adrenaline had started to wear off. I went out for the second half, tried to get the ball and turn, and I felt my ankle crack again.

"I knew I was done and I was in tears, I was properly crying. It was really upsetting.

“To be fair, Oxford’s tactics on the day were top-drawer. One of their players told me that part of that was to take me out; not necessarily injuring me, but they wanted to get tight and man-mark me out of the game.

“But that season just gave me the confidence to know what I’m capable of. Just playing week in, week out, getting minutes, scoring goals, there’s no better feeling than that. I was getting on the ball and thinking I’m unstoppable.

“I would go past one player, nutmeg the other, put it in the top corner… it was an insane season for me.”

That wasn’t the first time that a Maghoma had impressed in the EFL, with Maghoma’s brother Jacques making 382 appearances across the Championship and League Two, predominantly for Birmingham City.

The middle Maghoma brother, Christian, also played professionally, making four appearances in League One with Gillingham, as well as stints in the Polish top flight and the National League.

Asked the reason why all three brothers made it as professional footballers, Maghoma admits “it’s kind of scary”, before delving into their upbringing and how that could have aided them.

He explains: “There’s a 14-year age gap between me and Jacques. We weren’t that close growing up, only because when I was six, he was 20, finishing at Tottenham and not living at home, so I don’t have many memories of him when I was younger.

“But when I turned 14 or 15, I really looked up to him, especially from a footballing point of view. At that time, he was at Sheffield Wednesday and then went on to play for Birmingham for so long. My brother playing in the Championship… that was crazy. I was really proud of that.

“He’s the person that I look up to. He’s been through a lot and seeing him overcome those things - being away from his family and not being able to spend much time with his kids - it showed me how strong you have to be to be a footballer.

“With Christian, we used to cause my mum headaches!

“We used to live on an estate. There’d be parked cars outside, we’d open the door to our house, and we’d go on the other side of the road using the cars as a wall! We’d try and bend it into the door and we’d hit cars and windows… we’d get into trouble, the neighbours would be screaming at us. But I also think they understood that we just loved playing football.”

Having three brothers play professionally is already absurd - but the Maghoma production line is continuing to produce talent, with Paris’s nephew (Jacques’ son), Jaden, currently captain of Arsenal Under-14s.

Maghoma explains: “Almost from the day Jaden was born, we could not keep the football away from him. At two years old, this guy was doing rabonas!

“At that point, he doesn’t know that his dad and his uncles are footballers, but everything about him is football, football, football. I started to think, ‘What the hell? This family’s weird!’”

There are some parallels between Jaden and his uncle Paris, with them both coming through the academy of a north London club and, just like Paris, Jaden is expected to be called up for England Under-15s next year.

Whilst the Brentford man admits that his nephew is “a lot better than I was at that age”, he wants to give him as much advice as possible, having been in a similar scenario when he was the same age.

Paris states: “I’ve been in his shoes - I’m pretty sure he’ll get called up for England next year like I did - and you can’t let things get to your head.”

Elaborating on his time with the Young Lions, he recalls: “I was involved at U15s, U16s, U18s and U20s, so it was a great honour and privilege to be involved in the set-up and be around a lot of great players.

“I’m proud to be a part of that age group, we had some quality players.

“Some are playing in League One, Premier League, or even abroad… Marcus Edwards, my team-mate at Tottenham, was at Sporting Lisbon and has just signed for Burnley. He’s the most talented player I’ve played with - that guy’s a joke.

“I’ve played with some top players, especially at England: Bukayo Saka, Curtis Jones, Anthony Gordon.

“Playing for England, even at youth level, you do feel like the man. You’re still in secondary school, you’re getting time off to play for your country, it’s an unreal feeling.

“It is too easy for it to go to your head. You feel like you’ve made it, but you haven’t done f*** all with your life yet.

“When you’ve played 100 games in the Premier League, maybe then you can say, ‘Okay, I’ve achieved something in my career’, because not everyone can say they’ve done that.

“These are things I tell Jaden; I try to give him as much advice as I can. He can seriously go a long way and have a good career, but it’s all about staying grounded.

“He needs to learn from his dad and his two uncles and the mistakes we made, so he doesn’t make them as well.”