Just over a year ago, you returned to LOSC after a season on loan at Valenciennes, and Léo Jardim was about to start as number one. If someone had told you that a year later you'd be LOSC's starting goalkeeper in Ligue 1 Uber Eats, would that have surprised you?
"Yes and no... It was logical for Léo to start last season as the first-choice keeper because he'd been playing for six months. And Paulo Fonseca had just arrived, so maybe it wasn't the right time to change goalkeepers. But then, I didn't expect to get my chance so quickly. I think I got my first start in Round 7, even though I thought my turn would come later in the season. So yes, I believed in myself, I saw myself as the starting goalkeeper for LOSC one day, but maybe not so quickly."

'I'm a naturally confident person'

In what areas do you feel you've made the most progress during this first season as a first-choice keeper?
"First of all, in passing the ball. I arrived in a team with a coach who asked for a lot of short passes and was very demanding in that respect. I was immediately asked to perform at that level. They were already insisting on that during my training here, but at Valenciennes that wasn't the case at all. And when you're 20 and playing in a top-five team in France, it's not necessarily easy at first when you're asked to take so many risks. But I've felt better and better as the games have gone by and I've learnt to like making short throws. So much so that today, it would be complicated for me to play in a team that plays long and doesn't try to play out of defence. It's really important to have this quality if I want to continue to progress and evolve. Apart from the way I start play for our side, where I made the most progress last season was in my self-confidence. I had to acclimatise to this championship because, in the first few games, I was still a youngster. But as I racked ups the good performances, I felt more at ease and my confidence grew."

What's the difference between Ligue 2 BKT and Ligue 1 Uber Eats in terms of pressure?
"In Ligue 1 Uber Eats, we play against better teams, in much fuller stadiums, in front of more cameras, more media... There's more of everything, in fact. Not everyone follows Ligue 2 BKT, so if you make a mistake, it's less likely to be seen, less likely to be known. There are fewer consequences, both positive and negative. To deal with this new exposure, I saw a mental coach. He helped me and I think I'll do a few more sessions with him because I think it's important. But I haven't changed my routine either. Before my first matches in Ligue 1 Uber Eats, I was apprehensive because I was going to see something new, but I quickly got used to it. As for the pressure and criticism you can hear in a stadium, you have to be able to ignore it [smiles]."

Some young players have a tendency to get carried away with their own success, but those who work with you say there's no risk of that with you...
"It's true that my popularity rating changed between my season on loan at Valenciennes and today. Now, football fans and part of the general public know me, whereas when you play in Ligue 2 BKT, you stay in the background. I've also gained in visibility thanks to the Espoirs, but I know where I come from, from a small village in the north of France, where people are very simple. You have to live your life simply. It all depends on your upbringing and the people around you... If everything's going well at this level, there's no reason to get carried away. And as I said earlier, I work with a mental trainer who helps me maintain my self-confidence without getting carried away. I'm a naturally confident person on the pitch. After that, there are always things I need to rectify to do more and get closer to 100%, which is why we talk about delicate subjects and difficult situations that I've experienced or could experience one day on the pitch, so that I can understand things better. When something goes wrong, you have to talk about it. No matter what your age or experience, you can always improve."

'You mustn't show any weaknesses'

People say that Ligue 1 Uber Eats requires more concentration and attention, especially for the goalkeepers...
"I played some big games straight away: I got my start away to OM and by my fourth game it was the derby against Lens. There were also OL and Monaco just after that, so I got into the swing of things straight away. But I didn't change anything in the way I did things. I just said to myself: 'Come on, let's go' [laughs]. Even if I give off the image of someone who's very confident, very sure of myself, I'm human, I feel emotions and there are always things going on inside me. But it's important to project confidence. I'm certainly more confident now than I was at the start because, once you've played certain types of matches, it's done, and when you go through it again, it's easier."

When you say that you have to project the image of someone who is confident, is that in relation to the public or more in relation to your team-mates?
"It's both. You can't show any weaknesses. It's a way of reassuring yourself. I've always worked like that and now that I'm playing matches in Ligue 1 Uber Eats, it's even more part of my job."

Even if you're used to feeling out of your depth, when you're a young goalkeeper, do you dare to order your defenders around right away, especially when there are the likes of José Fonte, Mathieu Debuchy or Samuel Umtiti?
"You have to dare! Any defender likes to feel that he has someone behind him who is totally invested. Now, you're in charge of your defence, but you're certainly more careful about who you have in front of you. You perhaps take the initiative a little less and you adapt because you always have to be respectful. When you're talking to José Fonte, who's been through everything in his career, you sometimes have to be a bit formal. But if it's comments on the game or advice, it goes down very well. A goalkeeper has to lead his defence. And it's true that as the games go by, you feel more and more comfortable doing that. You have more credit and more legitimacy to advise your team-mates."

And in the other direction, do these experienced defenders give you a lot of guidance on the pitch?
"Yes, they talk to me when there are time-outs, set-pieces... They can ask me to move a certain way to ask for the ball, to speak a little more to tell them what's going on behind their backs for example... When the ball is out of play, it's a moment we can use to talk."

'I've got Lens supporters in my family'

You joined the LOSC youth academy just before you turned 13, but the first club to contact you was none other than RC Lens...
"Everyone knows that I'm from Calais, an area where three quarters of the population support Lens, so I have Lens supporters in my family. As a child, when I was playing for AS Marck, it was RC Lens who first came to my attention and it was there that I did my first trials at a professional club. But I was very young - I must have been eight or nine - so it was too early to leave home and I continued at my little club. LOSC came calling a few years later and I started doing tests in Lille, alongside those I continued to do at Lens, even though they were becoming rarer. With Lens, things finally came to an end because they made me do a growth test and an X-ray of my wrist, and they thought I was going to be too small. In the meantime, I continued to be scouted by Lille. It's true that I wasn't particularly tall, but after signing for LOSC, I started to grow and I was gaining ten centimetres a year. I've always liked LOSC, but I loved football, so when I had the opportunity to do some tests at Lens, I accepted. But when things got serious with Lille, it was even better!"

With Lille supporters in your family, what's it like during the derbies?
"[Laughs] Things are better now! My brother played for Lens from U14 to U16, but he's a Lille supporter now. The same goes for my parents, don't worry! They've watched me grow up with LOSC all these years and it's their son's club that they support! In fact, they come to the stadium all the time. A lot of my uncles and cousins are from Lens and, unfortunately, they're still there [laughs]! I know there are a couple of games during the season when I don't have the whole family behind me, but it's all good fun, it's never been war!"

'Mike Maignan has been like a big brother to me'

In an interview with Ligue2.fr, you said that Mike Maignan had naturally contributed to your progress. In what way?
"I worked with him for two years and he was like a big brother to me. He didn't have to do it, but he took me under his wing. He paid attention to what I was doing at every session. He was very demanding with me and he didn't hesitate to shout at me if I didn't do things properly. He also showed me a certain mindset and technique. We're still two different goalkeepers, but we have a lot of similarities in our play and attitudes. If you compare video of Mike and me, there are a lot of similarities. In the end, it makes sense because I identified with him to some extent and I tried to reproduce certain things I saw in him. I listened to what he told me and tried to add my own qualities to it. The fact that we're close to each other helped us create a strong bond, a friendly bond. That had a lot to do with my confidence. Today, he's where he is and it's fully deserved. If I manage to follow in his footsteps at LOSC, it promises great things for my future!"

You mentioned a friendly relationship with Mike Maignan. Does that mean that the two of you are in regular contact?
"Yes, we are. It's complicated find opportunities to see each other, but we write to each other and call each other regularly. We even sometimes debrief my games. He'll tell me what he didn't like about what I did with LOSC and we'll discuss it. Anyone who's ever met him will know that Mike is very forthright. If he has to tell you something, he's not going to beat about the bush! He might say to me: 'That wasn't right, you should have done that! Concentrate!'. Like a big brother! I know it's for my own good. Sometimes he doesn't even say hello to me, he just bumps into me [laughs]. When that happens, I wait a bit before answering him because I don't want to say anything stupid. Mike's a character!"

There's also that anecdote about the penalty that was saved against Lens in October 2022...
"[Cutting in] Yes, it was my fourth Ligue 1 Uber Eats match, my second at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy and, above all, my first derby! The previous season, LOSC had lost three derbies, so there was a lot of expectation from the fans. And we were at a bit of a crossroads because we'd been winning, losing, winning, losing... We knew that a win against Lens could start a run. On the afternoon of the match, I was in my bedroom in the dark and Mike called me on FaceTime. I switched on the light, half asleep, and he said to me: 'I hadn't realised that tonight was the derby against Lens! You can't afford to make any mistakes - you'd better win and you'd better do your job! I tried to reassure him and a few hours later, I saved a penalty and we won 1-0! It was a turning point in the match and even in the season, because the result of a derby can have such an influence on a club's dynamic... Maybe if I hadn't saved that penalty from Florian Sotoca, the season would have turned out completely differently. I'm happy to have made that save and, after the match, I immediately thought about Mike's call. It was a sign!"

'People saw Mike Maignan in me'

Mike Maignan is a keeper who specialises in saving penalties. Have you ever asked him for advice?
"No, we've never really talked about it. Maybe he's got a special technique, but I think that above all he's managed to create a positive energy around him by saving several penalties straight away. And now, every shooter who comes up against him thinks about it and changes his approach... It's intimidation, quite simply. He's managed to instil fear in the shooters. I'm not sure he has any particular technique, it's more a psychological influence that he's taken over the shooters, a feeling that makes the shooter change compared to what he does against another keeper. Good for him! When there's a penalty, there's a high probability that it will end up as a goal, but if you can take one out from time to time, it changes a lot of things in a match!"

During your season on loan at Valenciennes, you said that some of the fans had the impression that they were watching Mike Maignan...
"Yes, when I first started out, that was often the case! During my first few games, I had energy to spare because I had just come back from a knee injury [meniscus]. People saw Mike Maignan in my attitude, the way I made saves, the way I moved... Things I'd picked up from Mike. But Mike Maignan is Mike Maignan, and I'm Lucas Chevalier. We're practically the same size, we're roughly the same build, even if he is a bit bigger - but that's normal because he's a bit older - so we have the same profile and a bit of the same style of play. But while there are similarities and I've learnt a few things from him, we each have our own qualities."

When you have such a role model in front of you, is there a risk of wanting to do everything like him when you may not have the physical characteristics to do so?
"I picked up what he was laying down when he was here. Since Mike left, I watch him with Milan from time to time, but now it's all up to me. He helped me when we were together, but now it's up to me to make my own way."

'You can see a goalkeeper's strength when he makes a mistake'

When talking about your experience in Ligue 2 BKT, you said that as a young goalkeeper, it was better to make mistakes at that level, where visibility is lower, rather than in prime time in League 1 Uber Eats. And while things are going pretty well for you, there have been a few moments when you haven't been faultless, notably on a goal by Monaco's Caio Henrique last season. How do you deal with episodes like that?
"I remember that it was a rather strange match, where we won in the end, so my mistake didn't have too many consequences, fortunately... The three points made it easier to console ourselves and to think positively, but it was a real howler from a very simple move that we've done successfully hundreds of times in training - but not that time. It was a long-range free-kick and I was expecting someone to get a touch. A number of my team-mates moved towards the ball but in the end they stopped and nobody touched it, which surprised me a bit. I lost concentration for half a second and when the ball came to me, my hands were limp and it went between my legs... It's obvious that when that happens, in a full stadium, you can't be too proud... Especially as it was the first time I'd made a mistake like that and Monaco had equalised. You think: 'Goddammit...'. But I learned a lot of lessons from that match..."

What were they?
"Well, for a start, I knew how to react. For the rest of the match, I made some decisive saves and we were able to get the win. I knew I'd made a youthful mistake but I wanted to react after that blunder because there was still an hour left in the game in which to show my worth. When we spoke about it with Antonio Ferreira, the goalkeeping coach, he told me that he wasn't going to teach me how to take that type of ball, that I knew how to do it and that it was a lapse in concentration. What he liked was that I was able to react and help the team win. I think I'll make mistakes again. What's important is not to feel sorry for yourself, not to let yourself be beaten down, and to keep moving forward."

Are goalkeepers judged on their ability to bounce back from mistakes?
"I think so. When everything's going well, it's easy. Everyone praises you, everyone loves you... You can see a keeper's strength of character when he makes a mistake. Is he going to collapse or is he going to react? It has to be an accident and we have to move on. Coming back to the match against Monaco, I liked it in the end. You have to try and look on the bright side in every situation."

'It was a bit of a surprise for me to be in the starting line-up at the U21 Euros'

What did you take away from the U21 Euro that you played in last summer?
"It was a bit of a surprise to be in the starting line-up because Ilan Meslier was playing in the qualifiers. Even though he lost his first-choice spot at Leeds at the end of the season and his club ended up relegated, Ilan was the goalkeeper from the start. So just before the Euros, I was expecting Ilan to play, but Sylvain Ripoll explained to me that I was going to start, given the season I'd had and my form at the time. I didn't say no, of course [laughs]. I think we had a good tournament with good performances in our three group-stage wins, but unfortunately we lost to Ukraine in the quarter-finals..."

Was it a big disappointment to crash out at that stage of the competition?
"Yes, because collectively we could have done much better. There was quality in the squad. It's an experience, but it's a shame. It shows that no matter how good you are, no matter how many individual talents you have, you need more than that to forge a team. We should have worked together a bit more, like Ukraine, who may have had less individual quality but who fought harder, in a more coordinated way. In that competition, we paid for it in cash and our adventure stopped early, but I'm trying to take positives from it. Personally, I got the job done and we have to move on. We're not going to throw everything away just because we were knocked out of a tournament."