LOSC Lille - The Ligue 1 champions of 2020/21 ?

A THREAD:

With just 2 matchdays to go, LOSC Lille stand as the table toppers with 3 points above PSG

Lille have to face St. Etienne and Angers in their remaining 2 games while PSG have Reims and Brest in their final 2 games

Yet i expect Lille to clinch their first title since 2010-11.

We all know that the main reason for Lille’s dramatic rise is the excellent recruitment of their sporting director, Luis Campos

Campos is a man who loves to sign players for bargain and sell them for 50 million upwards. And this season, he’s done it again for Lille

After Nicolas Pépé and Rafael Leão both enjoyed a stellar campaign at Lille, they were sold for £75 & £30 million to Arsenal and AC Milan respectively

After the sale of the duo, Victor Osimhen of Angers was signed for 20 million in 2019 who scored 18 goals in his first season

After this massive success, Osimhen was sold to Napoli in 2020 for £60 million and was replaced by a 35 year old Burak Yilmaz on a free deal from Besiktas and Jonathan David from Gent

King Burak has taken the Ligue 1 by storm in his first season with 15 goals in the league.

Furthermore, Gabriel was sold to Arsenal in the summer of 2020 for £30 million and was replaced by a young Sven Botman from Ajax for £8 million

Sven has gone on to become one of the best defenders in Ligue 1 this season and if Lille were to sell him, he’d be worth £40 million up

Lille have been a selling club for the last couple of years and no doubt they will sell some more valuable assets due to the amount of talent in their current squad

Let’s have a look at some of the top performers for Lille who have helped them to mount a massive challenge on PSG

1) THE BRICK WALL :

Mike Maignan - ( , 25, GK):
No goalkeeper has managed more clean sheets in Europe’s top flight than Mike Maignan (20 CS)

Clean sheets: 20
Goals conceded: 22

This sort of form justifies why teams like AC Milan, Arsenal and Tottenham are interested in him

2) THE TURKISH DELIGHTS:

Ligue 1 stats:

• Burak Yilmaz - ( , 35, ST):
Goals : 15
Assists : 5

• Mehmet Zeki Çelik - ( , 24, RB):
Goals : 3
Assists : 3

• Yusuf Yazıcı - ( , 24, CAM/SS):
Goals : 7
Assists : 4

Yusuf Yazici has also scored 2 hat-tricks in the UEL (against AC Milan and Sparta Prague)

Which takes his goal tally to 14 goals: 7 in the league and 7 in Europe

So, Yazici is a player to keep an eye on

Nonetheless, King Burak has been the messiah for Lille by leading the young Lille attack and providing it with experience and goals

If there’s any one who deserves the Ligue 1 MVP of the season more than Burak, then it’s only Memphis Depay. Rest of the bunch don’t come close

3) THE PRODIGY:

Sven Botman - ( , 21, CB):
At a transfer fee of just £8 million, Sven Botman has been one of the best bargains of the season

Standing at 6’4, left footed, good on the ball, quick and strong, Sven has all the tools to become a top class defender

4) THE COLOSSUS :

Boubakary Soumaré - ( , 22, CDM):

Every promising French midfielder in the world will be compared to Kanté and Pogba but Soumaré really has the feet of Pogba combined with a work rate of Kanté

Recent rumours suggest Soumaré is joining Leicester city soon

5) THE THREE JONATHANS:

• Jonathan Bamba - ( , 25, LW):
Goals : 5
Assists : 11

• Jonathan Ikoné - ( , 23, CAM/RW):
Goals : 4
Assists : 5

• Jonathan David - ( , 21, ST):
Goals : 12
Assists : 3

6) THE CAPITANO:
José Fonte - ( , 37, CB):

37 years and still going strong, José Fonte’s career has been quite an inspiring one

He partnered a young VVD at Southampton from 2015-17 and helped to develop him

He partnered Gabriel at Lille from 2018-2020 and developed him

While now, he’s doing the same with Sven Botman. The duo have formed a formidable parternship at the back this season.

José will hope that his mentorship will help Sven to develop into a top CB just like his compatriot VVD

José must go into the Euros with Portugal as well

7) THE FORGOTTEN ONE:
Renato Sanches - ( , 23, CM):

For a player of just 23 years of age, Renato has had quite a rollercoaster of a career so far

From scoring in the Euros as a 18 y/o to winning the Golden boy to joining Bayern to playing for Swansea to reincarnation at Lille

That’s it for now. Let’s hope that Lille will put an end to PSG’s decade of dominance

• THE END •

Likes and RT’s would be appreciated