LIGUE 1 has been a happy hunting ground for Premier League clubs in recent January transfer windows – Abdoulaye Doucouré joining Watford in 2016, Lucas Moura moving to Tottenham in 2018, Youri Tielemans switching to Leicester in 2019 – and there could be more Gallic bargains up for grabs in this season’s winter trading period.
Here are five Ligue 1 players who might catch the eye of Premier League recruiters over the next five weeks.
Boubakary Soumaré (Lille)
Capped at every level by France between Under-16 and Under-21, strapping box-to-box midfielder Soumaré is reported to have attracted attention from a raft of leading European clubs including Manchester United and Tottenham.
The former Paris Saint-Germain youngster, 20, has formed an impressive partnership with Benjamin André in central midfield at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, but Lille are always willing to sell their most valuable assets and president Gérard Lopez indicated recently that if Soumaré is the subject of a significant offer, the club will not stand in his way.
McTominay potentially having a serious injury? We need a midfielder in January, Boubakary Soumaré would be my choice. pic.twitter.com/t4mw9zJhLb
— ً (@Sarrista__) December 26, 2019
“He’s a player who’s been here for two years,” Lopez told RMC Sport. “Typically, after two or three years, that’s when we decide that a player can leave. There’s interest in Spain and Italy. I know that José [Mourinho] is interested in him. But there are five, six clubs [who have expressed interest]. We’ll see.”
Clément Grenier (Rennes)
After bouncing back from a disappointing end to his time at formative club Lyon with a productive six-month stint at Guingamp, Grenier joined Rennes last year and played a central role in a season that saw the Brittany club reach the Europa League last 16 for the first time and lift the Coupe de France.
But this season he has lost his place in the side, with Rennes coach Julien Stéphan reacting to a disappointing run of results by installing Benjamin Bourigeaud and 17-year-old Eduardo Camavinga in the middle of the park. Grenier, 28, has started only two Ligue 1 games since the end of October and has had to content himself with run-outs in the Europa League. Recent reports suggest that Rennes will listen to offers in January for the classy central midfielder, who won the last of his five French caps in 2014.
1 – Players with the most direct free-kick shots and goals in top 5 European leagues since 2018:
LIONEL MESSI 78/16
Clément Grenier 46/2
Memphis Depay 40/3
A. Kolarov 32/4
Florent Mollet 31/3
Wylan Cyprien 30/2
Nabil Fekir 29/3
Daniel Parejo 28/2
Cristiano Ronaldo 28/0Ace. pic.twitter.com/nZOUJnt75x
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 11, 2019
Asked recently if he will still be at Rennes at the end of the season, Grenier replied: “That I don’t know. For now, yes. I’ve known worse moments, so I’m staying calm and working.”
Marcelo (Lyon)
Following a catastrophic falling-out between Marcelo and Lyon’s Bad Gones ultras group, it is widely expected that OL will look to move the Brazilian centre-back on in the January transfer window.
A dismal second half of the 2018-19 campaign and the arrival of record signing Joachim Andersen from Sampdoria saw Marcelo lose his place in the Lyon team at the beginning of the season. Andersen’s shaky start to life in France brought the 32-year-old back into OL’s starting XI, but then came a fateful 2-1 defeat at Benfica in the Champions League in October, after which he became involved in an angry exchange with one of the club’s supporters at Lisbon Airport.
VIDEO:
Lyon Captain Memphis Depay went after a supporter after the fan walked onto the pitch, holding a donkey banner with the writing "Marcelo leave the club" pic.twitter.com/Ck4zAGnNiC
— Fancy Di Maria (@FancyDiMaria) December 11, 2019
The fans have remained on Marcelo’s back ever since, with one even running onto the pitch brandishing a banner imploring him to leave after Lyon’s final Champions League group game at home to RB Leipzig. The former PSV Eindhoven, Hannover and Beşiktaş defender finds himself in desperate need of an escape route. England could yet provide one.
Kevin Strootman (Marseille)
Marseille paid €25 million to sign Strootman from Roma in the summer of 2018, but the 29-year-old Dutch international struggled to find his feet on France’s Mediterranean coast and become one of the symbols of a campaign that culminated in a disappointing fifth-place finish.
Strootman’s move to Stade Vélodrome reunited him with Rudi Garcia, who had previously been his coach at Roma, but even Garcia could not ignore the midfielder’s struggles, regularly leaving him on the bench in the second half of the campaign.
Kevin Strootman v Strasbourg (H), Ligue 1 2019/2020
1 goal ⚽
1 assist
6 clearances 2️⃣
4 tackles 2️⃣
75 touches 3️⃣: OM
️: #KevinStrootman #OMRCSA pic.twitter.com/nPZLWXJs0T— playamaking (@playamaking) December 5, 2019
Luiz Gustavo’s departure for Fenerbahçe on the eve of the current campaign appeared to have opened the door for Strootman, but André Villas-Boas, Garcia’s successor, seems unconvinced by him as well and has even taken to using Boubacar Kamara – a 20-year-old centre-back – in a midfield holding role in high-profile matches.
Long linked with Manchester United, Strootman may find it difficult to convince one of England’s major clubs to take a punt on him, but his experience and leadership qualities could be invaluable to a team further down the table.
Rayan Aït-Nouri (Angers)
Angers have produced a number of talented young footballers in recent years, with Arsenal’s Nicolas Pépé and Southampton winger Sofiane Boufal among the players to have graduated from their academy. In highly rated 18-year-old left-back Aït-Nouri, the club from western France appear to have another gem on their hands.
“He has a good head on his shoulders,” says Jean-Luc Vannuchi, Aït-Nouri’s former coach with France’s Under-18s. “Over-hyped young players tend not to get on, but with Rayan, I’ve got no worries on that score.”
Rayan Aït-Nouri (18)
• Left-back
• Angers SCOLigue 1 academies produce dynamically-talented players for fun; Aït-Nouri is the latest in a long production line.
A proactive defender with plenty of potential, he carries the ball well and can beat players in one-v-ones. pic.twitter.com/py3OTVpzeo
— Scouted Football (@ScoutedFtbl) November 15, 2019
Born in Paris to Algerian parents, Aït-Nouri became the youngest player to sign a professional contract at Angers in February 2018 and has been linked with Manchester City, Manchester United and Wolves, as well as Juventus, Atlético Madrid, RB Leipzig, PSG and Monaco. With Jorge Mendes representing his interests, the elegant France Under-21 international is unlikely to remain at Stade Raymond Kopa for long.
