Ligue 1 is one of the best league’s in Europe in terms of developing young talents. The French league is known for his African pool of talent as several Ligue 1 outfits have good scouting network in the continent. The league has provided us with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Samuel Umtiti, Marcus Thuram and Eden Hazard in recent years. The 2019-20 Ligue 1 season was abruptly ended by the government amidst coronavirus fears in April. However, many young players made a name for themselves in Ligue 1 this season and they are definitely the ones to watch out for in the future.
Here we will talk about the three best breakthrough stars of the Ligue 1 season.
#1 Eduardo Camavinga (Rennes)
Born in the Cabinda province of Angola, Eduardo Camavinga moved to France at the early age of two with his family. He started his youth career at Drapeau-Fougères in 2009 before moving to Rennes in 2013. Camavinga was handed his Ligue 1 debut last April against Nimes Olympique at the age of 16 years, and very few would have predicted his meteoric rise in the game.
There are only two players in the Rennes team – top goalscorer M’Baye Niang and club captain Hamari Traoré – who have had more game time than Camavinga in the Ligue 1 this season, and it shows how integral the teenager is to the team.
Camavinga is a left-footed defensive midfielder who likes to tackle and commit fouls in order to break the play of the opposition teams and so far, no particular weakness has been shown by him on the field. He also chipped in with a goal and two assists in the 25 Ligue 1 games he played in the present campaign before the season finished abruptly.
Eduardo Camavinga’s stocks have risen so much in the last year that once he got his French citizenship in November 2019, he was capped instantly by the French Under-21 team.
He is on the radar of several top teams in Europe, with the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United keen on signing the youngster. Rennes know that they have a generational talent in their ranks and are thus playing hardball. A fee upward of €50 million has been quoted to potential buyers.
#2 Victor Osimhen (Lille)
Victor Osimhen was born in Lagos, Nigeria and started his footballing journey at the Ultimate Strikers Academy before moving to Germany to play for VFL Wolfsburg. However, the forward failed to score a single goal in 16 appearances in all competitions for the German club and was swiftly loaned out to Belgian outfit R. Charleroi S.C., who soon made his move permanent. He found his goalscoring boots in Belgium, netting 19 times in 34 games before moving to Lille last summer.
Osimhen has been featuring for Nigeria since 2017 but the 2019-20 campaign will definitely be considered as his breakthrough season in world football. Following his move to Lille, nobody really excepted him to hit the ground running in Ligue 1.
Victor Osimhen’s playing attributes include good hold-up play, dribbling and quick speed. The 21-year-old, who is very tall and agile, is also extremely good with his movements both with and without the ball. He is quite muscular and very good in the air, which makes him a complete striker in the modern football world.
Osimhen scored 13 goals in Ligue 1 in the 2019-20 campaign and was just behind Kylian Mbappe, Wissam Ben Yedder and Moussa Dembele in the top goalscorers’ list. The youngster also contributed with five assists and had a hand in a goal every 135 minutes he played for Les Dogues. Osimhen was the main reason behind Lille’s fourth-place finish.
Victor Osimhen is on the radar of several top clubs and it won’t be a surprise if he makes a move this summer. Lille are aware of that and are holding out for a huge transfer fee in the region of €75-80 million.
#3 Aurélien Tchouaméni (Bordeaux and Monaco)
Aurelien Tchouameni is a French player of Cameroonian descent. He started his youth career at SJ D’Artigues and moved to Bordeaux in 2011 at the age of 11.
Tchouaméni was handed his senior Bordeaux debut last season, and in his one-and-a-half season stay as a first-team player at the club, the defensive midfielder appeared 37 times in all competitions for the Ligue 1 outfit. The number of appearances can be considered low but that’s because at the time of the 20-year-old’s senior debut, Bordeaux had a stacked midfield with the likes of Jaroslav Plasil, Toma Basic and Younousse Sankharé. However, things changed when Plasil and Sankhare both left the club last summer.
Aurelien Tchouaméni can play in various positions across the midfield but his preferred role is that of a holding midfield. Tchouaméni, who normally covers a lot of ground during a game, often drops very deep to collect the ball from the goalkeeper before moving it past the opposition’s first line. thereby starting a transition for his team.
An impressive box-to-box midfielder, he was the perfect link between the defence and attack at Bordeaux. Tchouaméni won more tackles than any of his teammates, whilst also attempting to play most passes, 80 per cent of which were completed. The 20-year-old has been capped by France at all youth levels so far.
Aurelien Tchouaméni moved to Monaco in January, but he managed to feature in just three Ligue 1 matches for his new employers as the COVID-19 outbreak halted the league. He has been touted to shine at Monaco and it won’t be a surprise if he joins a bigger club in the near future.
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