Ligue 1 Preview | Are Lille equipped to challenge at the top again?
One To Watch: Angel Gomes Is this finally the season the youngster proves all the promises placed on his back were truthful? There’s definitely a blueprint for that to happen after a very interesting first season as a starter for Lille, followed by a trophy-winning campaign at the U21 European Championships with England. After a 12-year spell at Manchester United, the technically gifted midfielder had to try something new to finally kick-start his professional career. Transferring to Lille in 2020, his spell at partner club Boavista enabled him to get regular playing time. However, it is under new LOSC manager Paulo Fonseca that he truly made his mark, at the heart of midfield as a creator. Equipped with a true sense of flair and a great vision for a killer ball, he managed six assists and two goals in 36 league games.
Integral to Fonseca’s midfield along with André Gomes, who has since returned to Everton, and workhorse Benjamin André, the Englishman was asked to play even deeper with the Young Lions this summer. As a deep-lying creator, he ran miles on end, tackling and intercepting the ball in every corner of the pitch. Standing at only 168cm, not many would have imagined the Red Devils’ graduate converting into a box-to-box midfielder. While Anthony Gordon, Levi Colwill, or James Trafford took the front cover of the newspapers on the way to winning the Euros, there is no doubt that Les Dogues’ contribution was immense. He will play an integral role again this year, in a season which could see Lille push on from a very promising first season under the management of Fonseca.
Signing To Watch: Samuel Umtiti It has been a whirlwind of a career for the Lyon academy graduate. Coming into the first team ten years ago under
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