Month: February 2023

According to Foot Mercato, following Kylian Mbappé’s refusal to partake in photoshoots for several sponsors of the French national team, the Paris Saint-Germain striker could be deprived of his image rights bonus – which amounts to €25,000 for each match he plays for the France international side. However he will not risk any match suspension or sporting sanction.

His decision comes after reports that the FFF did not intend to change the image rights agreement with national team players, which had been a point of contention with the Paris Saint-Germain striker since he initiated a boycott of certain sponsors of Les Bleus back in March.

The forward released a statement via AFP indicating that he and his team lamented the fact that an agreement had not been found in the build-up to the World Cup, despite indicating in the last few months that he wanted a renegotiation.

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Mbappé and his entourage notably feel that certain players’ image are used more often than others, and also want French national team players to have some agency over the brands their names are associated with.

RMC add that the photo shoot for tomorrow was due to involve some of the national team’s main sponsors – which could be an issue with the likes of Uber Eats, KFC and Coca-Cola.

Speaking to After Foot RMC, former OGC Nice sporting director Julien Fournier revealed that now-Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi was his pick to replace Christophe Galtier at Les Aiglons. 

Fournier departed Nice at the beginning of July, and he, therefore, wasn’t responsible for hiring Lucien Favre. The Swiss manager has returned to the Allianz Riviera for a second spell as manager, although he has found things difficult at the beginning of the season. 

The club currently languishes in 13th position, and there had been rumours of his impending departure that, for now, have abated. 

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“I like Lucien a lot. If you don’t put him in a very established organisation, with clear rules. There needs to be a military-esque organisation and very strict management around the team. In this context, I was more in favour of a different manager,” said Fournier. 

Asked who he would have picked, he replied, “I wanted [Roberto] De Zerbi.” At the time, De Zerbi was at Shakhtar Donetsk, but he has recently moved to the Premier League to replace Graham Potter at Brighton. 

This is the latest feature in our series counting down French football’s 20 hottest properties, those most likely to feature in elite clubs’ 2023 transfer plans. Look out for the next player tomorrow and follow the run down in full here on GFFN.

Football is ever-evolving. Tactics, formations, philosophies and even positions continuously change. In the modern game, where dominant teams expect defenders to be a creative presence and provide forward impetus, full-backs have become one of the most vital, and most entertaining, cogs in the machines deployed by the world’s best coaches. Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, João Cancelo of Manchester City and Achraf Hakimi at PSG, are some examples of the modern game’s elite full-backs, and every elite club is on the lookout for the next example.

Lyon’s Malo Gusto could be just that. At just 19, he has all the makings of a top-level full-back. It’s hardly surprising that such a talent was produced in Mezieux, the home of Lyon’s prolific academy, and L’Équipe reported that Barcelona were admirers of the France under 21 international this summer, but Lyon stood firm. What makes Gusto so sought after is his ability in both the attacking and defensive thirds, enabled by his impressive athleticism.

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Gusto is often required to cover the whole right flank throughout a game. Some players are criticised for being reliant on physicality to excel but this is far from the case with Gusto. Lyon’s former captain and fellow right-back, Leo Dubois, was often criticised for this and the French international was almost forced out of the club, eventually joining Galatasaray, due to Gusto’s fast track to the first team.

Most striking is the Lyon academy graduate’s attacking intelligence, while Gusto’s passing range and effectiveness is paralleled by very few in his position. Crossing is key for a modern full-back and Gusto has an impressive knack for creating dangerous situations for opposing centre-backs. He’s currently in the top 1% of full-backs for crosses into the penalty area from across Europe’s leading five leagues over the last year, according to FBRef.

Elite modern full-backs are specialists in their teams and their systems. Alexander-Arnold is Liverpool’s progressive and creative passing chief while Hakimi has the awareness and ability to complement PSG’s attacking trio as the spare man, allowing the Moroccan to score a freakish amount of goals for a full-back. Gusto has this same effect, but in a different capacity. OL left-back Nicolás Tagliafico’s experience makes him the safety net at the back for young centre-back Castello Lukeba and his partner, meaning Gusto has the freedom to roam the right flank and be the spare man out wide, picking up more inverted positions while finding the free man in the area.

Before Laurent Blanc arrived at Lyon to replace the sacked Peter Bosz, the 19-year-old was producing 1.4 key passes per 90 minutes and completed three balls into the penalty area per 90, fantastic numbers for a right-back. His passing is impressive, although not on the same level of that of Alexander-Arnold but, at just 19, the Frenchman has plenty of time to develop this area of his game.

Modern-day full-backs are often criticised for not being as complete defensively as traditional full-backs, whose primary role was to defend. Despite sometimes being caught out of position and occasionally guilty of naïve defending, this part of Gusto’s game makes for a rather promising viewing. He completes almost five tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes and is a pressing machine when it comes to winning the ball back, providing 18 active pressures per game under Bosz, a large number occurring in the final third.

Given his form, potential and current ability, there are lots of options for Gusto. Barcelona and Bayern Munich have been looking for the next Dani Alves or Phillip Lahm for years without any real success and Real Madrid’s Dani Carvajal isn’t getting any younger. Gusto could soon be the obvious target.

The main attraction for all interested parties is Gusto’s youth and, despite being established at OL and in Ligue 1, he’s yet to gain a reputation across Europe, which could make him a cheaper option than other more established full-backs. Nevertheless, Gusto is best served by continuing his development at Lyon for the foreseeable future, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see an established European giant make a move for him as the search for elite full-backs continues.

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Former Lorient manager Christophe Pelissier is the favourite to succeed Jean-Marc Furlan as Auxerre manager, according to L’Équipe. 

Furlan was relieved of his duties as Auxerre manager on 11th October after a difficult run of form, and after raising his middle finger to the Clermont Foot supporters during a Ligue 1 fixture. Since Auxerre have been scouring the market and have looked at Patrice Grande, Sabri Lamouchi and Jocelyn Gourvennec, who has not found employment since being relieved of his duties by Lille last summer. 

However, it is Pelissier who looks to be in the driving seat to land the role. Having kept Lorient in Ligue 1 for the past two seasons, he left Les Merlus after the 2021/22 campaign. According to L‘Équipe, he has moved ahead of Lamouchi in the race to become the next Auxerre boss. 

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In place of Furlan, former assistant Michel Padovani took charge of Auxerre over the weekend, and he earned a draw against Nice. That results could lead to the board further considering their next move. 

Neither side goes into Sunday’s match at the Stade Louis II in blistering form. AS Monaco are winless in their last four – a streak that includes two draws, the most recent one coming in their Europa League tie against Ferencváros on Thursday. Angers, meanwhile, look in trouble. They have lost their last four, albeit by a fine, one-goal margin in their last three. 

Monaco came out second best in a seven-goal thriller last week (4-3) against Lille, which allowed Paulo Fonseca’s men to leapfrog them in the table. The club’s objective is clearly to be on the podium by the season’s end, and they still have a way to go. A win against rock-bottom Angers is a must to avoid a sense of crisis engulfing the squad and to keep up the chase. 

Against Lille, Monaco struggled to control the midfield in the absence of Mohamed Camara, who has become quickly indispensable to Philippe Clement. However, they will have to do so again on Sunday, with the Malian international once again suspended. Monaco are already without Ruben Aguilar, and could be without their other right-back Vanderson, who was withdrawn before half-time against Ferencváros. Should the Brazilian be deemed unfit to play, Monaco will be forced into a re-think. Axel Disasi could be forced to deputise, or they could switch to a 3-4-3. 

Angers could also be missing players in key departments. Sofiane Boufal is a doubt for the game, and should he be absent, he would be a huge miss for a side that is desperate for points. 

Monaco starting XI v Angers

Nübel – Henrique, Badiashile, Maripán, Disasi – Golovin, Fofana, Matazo, Minamino – Ben Yedder, Embolo 

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Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Marquinhos (28) has been ruled out of the final league game of the season through injury, with just 12 days to go until Brazil’s opening World Cup fixture against Serbia. 

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Releasing the group that will face Auxerre at the Parc des Princes tomorrow, one notable name was absent. Marquinhos hasn’t made the group and will miss out because of muscular discomfort. The Parisian club have not revealed the severity of the injury, and consequently, it remains unclear whether he will be fit for Brazil’s first World Cup game. 

His absence coincides with the return of Presnel Kimpembe (27), who has only played 59 minutes of football since 18 September. The French centre-back was named in Didier Deschamps’ World Cup squad earlier this week, despite his limited game time. 

Until the severity of Marquinhos’ injury is ascertained, there will be anxiousness within the Brazil camp, with the PSG centre-back a regular starter for his national side. 

As announced via the official channels of the club, Stade Brestois will be signing Kenny Lala on a permanent deal when the transfer window opens on 1st January 2022. This follows the Frenchman terminating his contract with Olympiakos several weeks ago.

The former Racing Club de Strasbourg defender has, from today, started training with the squad as Les Pirates prepare for their Ligue 1 return at the end of the month – although Lala will officially sign his contract at the club when the transfer window opens, meaning he’ll be unavailable for Brest until that time.

Lala arrived at Olympiacos in 2021 from Strasbourg, where he earned a provisional France call-up and won the Coupe de la Ligue in 2018/19. Since then the wing-back has played on 51 occaisons of which many appearances where in the Europa League and Champions League as well as winning the Greek championship two times. He terminated his contract following three managerial changes and not a single appearance this season. 

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Speaking to RMC Sport last night, Paris Saint-Germain club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi adopted a diplomatic position on the World Cup final between France and Argentina, which sees Parisian teammates Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé in direct competition for the trophy. The following was transcribed by L’Équipe: 

The Qatari said that he was “looking forward” to the 2022 World Cup Final, saying that it will be a “great pleasure” to be present for the game. Al-Khelaifi then went on to say that he hopes France wins the World Cup, but that “Argentina also had a good World Cup with Lionel Messi” before finishing off with “If I could, I would give the trophy to both of them!” 

This follows PSG’s neutral stance on the final, as to not pit two of their star players against each other – their internal communications have been instructed to manage social media accounts based on language and the eventual winner of the competition.

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As Paris Saint-Germain fell to their first defeat of the season, captain Marquinhos reflected on a match that saw the league leaders constantly put under pressure by a more tactically coherent Lens side, in another famous win masterminded by manager Franck Haise.

Speaking to Prime Video – as reported in RMC – the Brazilian defender recognised that tonight’s opposition were able to take their chances better than the champions, and played down the absences of both Neymar and Lionel Messi as factors in the loss.

The Brazilian forward missed the game after picking up two yellow cards in the midweek victory over Strasbourg, while the World Cup winner is only expected back next week, following his success in Qatar with Argentina.

For Marquinhos, this PSG side will have to improve heading into the second half of the season, as they look to retain their title in the face of a growing challenge from this sturdy Lens side:

“I think Lens were more clinical, both teams had chances in a very intense match. They were clinical, especially in the first half, they won the challenges that made the difference, we had chances to come back but we weren’t as efficient as they were. [On Messi and Neymar’s absences] They are great players who have made the difference before, but we’ve already won without them, we need to rediscover the team’s cohesion.”

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Azzedine Ounahi’s impressive World Cup performances did little to hurt his stock, as Morocco reached the semi-finals last month for the first time in their history. Napoli, one of many European clubs interested in Ounahi’s signature, have reportedly made an offer to Angers of €15m plus bonuses. But, in the face of the Ligue 1 team’s the demands, the Azzurri will not employ desperate transfer tactics to secure his signature, per Ignazio Genuardi.

The Neapolitans will find themselves in competition with Premier League sides Leeds United and Leicester City if they wish to sign the young Moroccan midfielder. But Napoli’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis has limited capital flexibility, and cannot afford to enter costly bidding wars. But with Napoli seven points clear at the top of Serie A, Ounahi may well see his future in Naples regardless. Back at Angers, his side are currently bottom of Ligue 1, having registered just two wins in 17 games. The allure of both Italian glory and potential European football next season may be too much to miss.

The situation at Leeds and Leicester is only marginally more promising than back in France: both sides sit just two points above the relegation zone, and just five off the bottom. If a club is to attract Ounahi’s signature in the coming weeks, Angers will demand that a commensurate fee be paid. If their demands are too high, Angers may finish by selling him in summer for a discounted fee, if they are to be relegated to Ligue 2.

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