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One of Europe’s top football leagues, France’s Ligue 1 is packed full of talented players and excellent prospects. However, in recent months, Ligue 1 has been under the shadow of a looming financial crisis, caused by the collapse of their existing TV deal, which was worth around €3.25bn.
With their clubs in potential financial peril, could we see some of Ligue 1’s greatest talents making their way to the Premier League this summer? It’s definitely possible.
In fact, we may already have seen the beginning. Talented midfielder Morgan Sanson joined Aston Villa in January from Marseille in a cut-price deal worth only £14m.
And while ultra-rich Paris St. Germain may not need to sell players to keep their heads above water, the same cannot likely be said for Ligue 1’s other sides.
With this in mind, here are ten Ligue 1 stars who could end up moving to the Premier League in the near future.
#1 Jason Denayer (Lyon)
Like a number of the players on this list, Jason Denayer has already had a brief time as a Premier League player.
As a teenager, the Belgian defender spent a number of years in Manchester City’s academy. But when loans to Celtic, Galatasaray, and Sunderland didn’t impress the Etihad brass, he was sold to Lyon in the summer of 2018 for just €6.5m.
Since then, Denayer has gone from strength to strength. Not only is he now one of Belgium’s first-choice defenders, but he’s arguably the best center-back in Ligue 1.
Blessed with plenty of natural athleticism, Denayer is not just a quick and powerful defender. Still, he’s also got an excellent range of passing – with an impressive success rate of 95.5% this season alone.
Essentially, Denayer would be an asset for any Premier League side. Given that he’s already played with Virgil van Dijk at Celtic, Liverpool could do worse than look at the 25-year-old this summer.
#2 Renato Sanches (Lille)
Once considered arguably the hottest midfield prospect in world football, it doesn’t feel like almost half a decade since Renato Sanches lit up Euro 2016 as part of the victorious Portugal squad.
Sanches made a big-money move that summer, going from Benfica to Bayern Munich for €35m, but the move turned out to be a disaster.
After struggling through four seasons at Bayern – one of which saw him make an equally disastrous loan move to then-Premier League side Swansea City – Sanches was largely seen as a busted flush.
However, after making a move to Lille in the summer of 2019, the Portuguese has re-ignited his career. His first season in France was a success, as he made 19 appearances in the truncated 2019-20 campaign, scoring three goals and registering one assist.
Sanches now looks back to his best, with the skills that made him such a coveted player at Euro 2016 coming back to the forefront.
The Portuguese remains excellent on the ball. And his ability to drive forward from a deep-lying midfield spot, as well as his strong passing skills, has meant that he’s been linked with Liverpool as a potential replacement for Gini Wijnaldum.
If he does return to the Premier League, one will hope he’d have a better experience than he did in 2017-18.
#3 Gael Kakuta (Lens)
The case of Gael Kakuta, who now plays for Lens, is an absolutely fascinating one. Once signed by Chelsea’s academy as a 17-year-old, Kakuta left the Blues in 2015 after a string of largely fruitless loan moves.
In the years that followed, Kakuta played in Spain and China – essentially becoming a journeyman – before returning to France in the summer of 2019.
His move to Amiens appeared to work out well, but his performances weren’t quite enough to prevent his side from being relegated.
However, since moving on loan to Lens in the summer of 2020, Kakuta has suddenly rediscovered the spark that once made him one of Europe’s hottest prospects.
The playmaker has made 23 Ligue 1 appearances for Lens this season, scoring nine goals and registering four assists. His average of 1.7 key passes per game puts him in Ligue 1’s top 10, and he’s arguably been Lens’ key player in their surprising rise up the table.
At 29 years old, Kakuta is no longer a prospect – but given that he likely wouldn’t command a large fee, his creative skills could certainly help a lower or mid-table Premier League side, giving him an unlikely return to England’s top flight.
#4 Eduardo Camavinga (Rennes)
Still just 18 years old, few players have received as much hype in recent years as Rennes midfielder Eduardo Camavinga.
The Angolan-born star has already been called up to France’s senior team, breaking the records for Les Bleus’ youngest-ever player and youngest-ever goalscorer in the process.
Usually deployed by Rennes as a deep-lying midfielder – almost a defensive screen at times – Camavinga’s skills seem to contradict his young age.
Not only is he capable of breaking down opposing attacks – he’s Rennes’ most prolific tackler – but he’s also a tremendous passer. This skill allows him to dictate play from the center of the pitch, often driving his team forward and beginning attacks.
Sure, some of his skills still need refining. His involvement in goals is relatively low, for instance, and he doesn’t score too highly when it comes to key passes per game. However, at 18, he has plenty of time to develop.
Camavinga’s unique skills have already seen him linked with Europe’s giants. And with Rennes likely hurting financially – and COVID-19 causing problems for many of Europe’s top sides – it wouldn’t be a shock to see him head to Manchester United, who have reportedly already shown an interest.
#5 Florian Thauvin (Marseille)
It seems hard to believe now, but Marseille winger Florian Thauvin was once considered a laughing stock in the Premier League.
His crime? During a disastrous 13-game run with Newcastle United in the 2015-16 season, he turned up to a game wearing a tuxedo, causing fans and pundits alike to question his professionalism.
Such a ludicrous issue now seems trivial – particularly since Thauvin has gone on become one of Europe’s most dangerous attackers after returning to France with Marseille in 2016.
The winger’s first full season at the Stade Velodrome saw him score 15 goals and register eight assists - a tremendous return that he somehow topped in the 2017-18 season when he scored 22 and made 11 assists.
An equally fruitful 2018-19 campaign again saw him involved in over 20 league goals, and it was unsurprising to see him linked with a return to the Premier League that summer.
However, the move didn’t come off, and after missing almost the whole 2019-20 campaign due to injury, Thauvin has remained at Marseille.
But with seven goals and seven assists to his name this season, it looks like he’s back to his best form. And given the chaos surrounding Marseille right now, it would definitely make sense for a Premier League side to bring him back to England this summer.
After all, few players on the planet can match the numbers he’s produced in the past four and a half seasons.
#6 Memphis Depay (Lyon)
Another player who has recovered in Ligue 1 following a disastrous move to the Premier League is Lyon’s Memphis Depay.
The Dutchman struggled in his brief period with Manchester United. But his form in France has been such that any Premier League club would probably love to bring him in this summer.
A speedy winger who’s become more and more comfortable playing as a forward, it’s easy to understand why United were attracted to him in the first place. The Dutchman is remarkably direct, can dribble at defenders at top speed, and is also a dead-ball expert.
Since moving to Lyon, though, Depay has become far more of a team player than he was in his youth. The 2018-19 campaign saw him register 10 assists to go with his 10 goals. And while his 2019-20 season was curtailed by a serious knee injury, he’s recovered well since.
The current season has seen him score 13 goals and register six assists in 24 games, showing that he’s also improved his finishing skills too.
Depay has been linked with a move to Barcelona for some time now, but with the Spanish giants in the midst of their own financial crisis, that move may not be possible.
Instead, a move back to the Premier League – though probably not with United – could well be on the cards this summer, giving him another chance to prove his doubters wrong.
#7 Sven Botman (Lille)
Lille are currently at the top of Ligue 1, and their excellent defense – conceding just 15 goals thus far into 2020-21 – has played a large part in their success.
Perhaps the key player to that defensive strength has been Dutch center-back Sven Botman. Signed by Les Dogues last summer for a fee of €9m from Ajax, the 21-year old has enjoyed an absolutely fantastic debut season in Ligue 1.
Botman has played every minute of Lille’s 24 league games this season, and his defensive statistics are remarkably strong. He scores highly when it comes to tackles, blocks, and interceptions per game but is also excellent on the ball.
No other Lille player makes more passes than the Dutchman’s average of 71.8 per match, and Botman’s accuracy is also high – 85.7%.
It’s hardly a surprise that this mix of steel and comfort on the ball has piqued some of the Premier League’s big clubs' interest.
This week, Tottenham became the latest side to be linked with a summer move for the 21-year-old. And despite Botman only joining Lille last summer, given the club’s financial issues, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him make the move to England in a few months’ time.
#8 Gaetan Laborde (Montpellier)
Despite their current mid-table position, Montpellier have often been considered Ligue 1’s “entertainers” during the current campaign, with their total of 39 goals only bettered by the current top four.
One player who has made a huge contribution to that reputation is attacker Gaetan Laborde. The 26-year-old Frenchman has been with Montpellier since 2018, but the current season in particular has seen him rise in prominence.
Laborde has appeared in all of Montpellier’s 24 matches, and his record of nine goals and seven assists is only bettered by a handful of Ligue 1 players.
An aggressive attacker who plays in a largely direct way – taking an average of 2.5 shots per game – Laborde isn’t quite as refined as some of the other forwards in Ligue 1.
But he’s certainly capable of affecting a game, making him a potentially attractive – and likely cheap – signing for a Premier League side.
This season has already seen Wolves, West Ham United, and Newcastle United linked with a move for him. And if he continues to produce the form he’s shown recently, it’s likely we’ll see him in England’s top flight next season.
#9 Fabien Centonze (Metz)
The Premier League is absolutely full of high-level right-backs, with many of them homegrown English talent. However, there are a number of top clubs requiring reinforcements in the position. And those clubs could potentially find a bargain in the form of Metz’s Fabien Centonze.
The 25-year-old Frenchman is largely unheralded outside of Ligue 1, but he enjoyed an excellent season with Metz in 2019-20 and has carried his form over into the current campaign.
Offering an impressive mix of athleticism and technique, Centonze scores highly in all defensive categories.
His average of 3.7 interceptions per game marks him out as the best in Ligue 1, and he also makes the top 10 when it comes to tackles, scoring an average of 3 per game.
But Centonze is not just a defensive full-back. He’s also more than capable of joining in with attacks, as he showed by registering three assists during the 2019-20 campaign.
With sides like Aston Villa and Tottenham potentially in the market for more depth in the right-back spot this summer, the Metz defender could prove to be the perfect solution.
#10 Boulaye Dia (Reims)
Ligue 1 has a number of high-level strikers, including international stars Kylian Mbappe and Neymar. But while Mbappe stands at the top of Ligue 1’s scoring table, a surprising name isn’t too far behind him.
That surprise name is Boulaye Dia of Reims. The 24-year-old Senegal international showed his potential by scoring seven goals in the 2019-20 campaign, but he’s already bettered that by scoring 12 thus far into the current season.
Pace and power are the name of Dia’s game. He’s remarkably quick, and with a low center of gravity - thanks to his 5’11” frame - he’s very tricky to knock off the ball.
And when he gets in front of goal, Dia is a hugely confident finisher, able to score comfortably with either foot.
Dia has already been linked with a move to Arsenal, and in the recent transfer window, it was rumored that West Ham were about to make a move for him.
If he continues scoring at his current rate, there can be no doubt that he’s destined for big things. And so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him explode into the Premier League in the 2021-22 season.
