Stephy Alvaro Mavididi (born 31 May 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for EFL Championship club Watford, on loan from Leicester City. Born in England, he represents the DR Congo national team.
Early and personal life
Born in Derby, Mavididi was raised in East London. His younger brother Shaun is also a footballer. His great-grandmother was Congolese and married a Ugandan man who lived on the Uganda-DR Congo border and traded smoked fish on Lake Albert, regularly crossing between the two countries.
Club career
Arsenal
He began his career at Southend United before joining Arsenal at the age of 13. He turned professional with Arsenal in July 2015.
Mavididi joined Charlton Athletic on loan on 31 January 2017 until the end of the season. However, following an injury in his fifth game for the club, he returned to Arsenal on 1 March 2017, having made three starts and two substitute appearances.
He signed on loan for Preston North End in August 2017.
On 3 January 2018, it was announced by Arsenal that Mavididi had returned to the club and was then subsequently sent on loan with Charlton Athletic. In his first game of his second loan spell at Charlton he scored his first goal in professional football in a 1–0 win over Oldham Athletic. In February 2018 he suffered a hamstring injury.
Juventus
After eight years with Arsenal, in August 2018, he signed for Italian club Juventus. He was initially signed as a reserve player, having been scouted by Giorgio Chiellini's brother, but soon began training with the first team. On 13 April 2019, Mavididi made his senior Juventus debut in a 2–1 away loss against S.P.A.L. in Serie A. In doing so he became the first English player since David Platt in 1992 to play for Juventus. Juventus won the Serie A title in his first season, but Mavididi did not receive a winner's medal as he had not played in enough matches. Shortly after the championship title was confirmed, Mavididi learned that his father had died.
On 29 August 2019, he joined French club Dijon on loan.
Montpellier
On 30 June 2020, Mavididi joined French club Montpellier on a permanent deal worth €6.3 million.
On 16 April 2023, Mavididi became the English player with the most appearances in the history of Ligue 1 after making his 108th appearance, overtaking the record of Chris Waddle.
He later described his time with Montpellier saying "Everyone just sees the charmed life, but it is really more than that. For me personally I have been to some dark places being far away from home. For example I have a little brother and I basically missed all his teenage years growing up - it's little things like that, that can really take a toll on you [...] For me the dark times have made me 10 times stronger".
Leicester City
On 31 July 2023, Mavididi returned to England and joined Championship club Leicester City for an undisclosed fee reported to be around €7.5 million. On 6 August, he made his debut for Leicester, in which he assisted Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's winning goal against Coventry City, in the club's first game of the season. On 12 August, he scored his first goal for Leicester in the league in the 73rd minute in a 1–0 away win against Huddersfield Town. His form over the next few weeks was inconsistent. Following a run of five goals in seven games, Mavididi was awarded the EFL Championship Player of the Month award for December 2023.
He signed on loan for Watford on 1 September 2026.
International career
Mavididi was born in England and is of DR Congolese, and Ugandan descent.
Mavididi has played for England at under-17 youth level, representing them at the 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, and the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He has also played for England at under-18 and under-19 levels.
Although he is eligible to play for the DR Congo national football team, Mavididi appeared to commit himself to England in December 2020, stating "my ultimate goal is to get into England's senior team, but for now the best pathway is the Under-21s so I want to try and get into that squad".
In September 2026, he was called-up by the DR Congo national team. He made his international debut in their first friendly against Uganda, which they lost 2–0.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 18 September 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal | 2016–17 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017–18 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Charlton Athletic (loan) | 2016–17 | League One | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Preston North End (loan) | 2017–18 | Championship | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |
| Charlton Athletic (loan) | 2017–18 | League One | 12 | 2 | — | — | 3 | 0 | 15 | 2 | ||
| Juventus U23 | 2018–19 | Serie C | 32 | 6 | — | — | — | 32 | 6 | |||
| Juventus | 2018–19 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Dijon (loan) | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 24 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 28 | 8 | |
| Montpellier | 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 35 | 9 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 9 | ||
| 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 30 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 8 | |||
| 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 4 | |||
| Total | 91 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 21 | ||
| Leicester City | 2023–24 | Championship | 46 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 48 | 13 | |
| 2024–25 | Premier League | 30 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 33 | 6 | ||
| 2025–26 | Championship | 42 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 45 | 4 | ||
| 2026–27 | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 118 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 127 | 23 | ||
| Watford (loan) | 2026–27 | Championship | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Career total | 297 | 53 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 321 | 60 | ||
International
- As of match played 5 October 2026
| DR Congo | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 0 |
