All That Talent?

Everyone seems to know about Benzema and Ben Arfa at Lyon, Nasri and Valbuena at Marseille, even Menez and Gakpe at Monaco. What people dont know though is that Ligue 1 has so much more to offer in terms of talent then just these few youngsters. Yeah, thats right, lots and lots of young talent fighting it our to be the best. After a long absence from France, I return with this post for everyone, take a look at some of the young and talented yet typicaly unmentioned names of Ligue 1.

Gabriel Obertan, Striker Bordeaux:

I like him, I do not see him play much but the few times I did I was impressed, he is quick and skilled but his finishing and crossing needs alot of work. He is also a little lightweight, so while Benzema and even Jeremy Menez seem real deals of the summer, Obertan shouldnt be forgotten either. He is more of a right winger in a 4-3-3 then a striker like Benzema, but his lanky body sure can shimmy around the field and put a show on. At 19 though I would like to see him stay in France with the rest of the incredibly large and talented pool of young French talent in Ligue 1. Another year in the oven never hurts. Here is the requiste highlights video:

The song got me hooked, Blink reminds me of my youth, the freshness of life in middle school. Ahh, well he made his Ligue 1 debut at 17 and has been making steady progress since. You be the judge here, I say this isnt plausible yet.

Miralem Pjanic, Midfielder Metz:

I have never seen him play, I dont even know if he has played a Ligue 1 game yet for struggling Metz. I follow Ligue 1 just like La Liga, so I think I would know. Definately slipped unfer my radar, he has made a few cup appearances, against lowly teams, so he is being eased into things. He is French/Luxemborgian/Bosnian so he has the pick of the litter there on who to play for some day. At 17 he is a definite talent early on. But again, a few more years in the oven does not hurt.

This does not show you much, but its a start. I feel he would go to Arsenal before Real or Barca, it just seems more obvious for a kid to go to Arsenal.

Henri Saivet, Right Wing Bordeuax:

So elegenat and fast, I like this player alot. He is awesome, dubbed the new Henry, it looks every likely but you never know, it seems silly to annoint players like that, they will be their own footballer. He has a bright future in head of him if he can keep it up, lets hop he does, he is the future of French football right here.

Again, a great song to accompany highlights, its my lucky day. The second guy in that video is right below!

Eden Hazard, Attacking Midfielder Lille

Now that is a double vidoe, it also stares Eden Hazard, a young Belgian of 17 years who is currently in the Lille first team. He is just as incredible as Saivet, running around like a boy possessed and dicing defenses with clever flicks and well disguised through balls. Its safe to say that like Bordeuax, Lille cant stop producing incredible players either.

Kevin Mirallas, Striker Lille

Kevin is a favorite player of mine, I have always enjoyed him, and although I do not know if he is gonna ever score 30+ goals in a season, he is a skillful player who can hold the ball up well and gives you alot of pace to use. He may be best suited for the wing, which is what he has been gravitating to recently with Lille, but at 20 and soon to be 21, he already has 2 caps and 2 goals for Belgium. He needs to improve with Lille still of course, but a move away is in the cards for this fastly improving player.

Babacar Gueye, Striker Metz

Its pretty easy to draw comparisons with Emanuel Adebayor here, the kid is tall, lanky and quick, but he has technique you dont usually find in big men. His goal scoring is not great yet, but when you play for Metz rarely is it. He is a summer move away from the big time, a place like Monaco or maybe Marseille would see the kid flourish. You have to cheer for him, he is kid from Senegal trying to make it in this crazy world. Scored 16 last year in ligue 2, again only has a handful in Ligue 1 this year, but then again Metz only have a handful so my guess is he stays up even if Metz go back down.

Kevin Monnet-Paquet and Razak Boukari, Wingers Lens

Both are playing very little under the less the intelligent Papin at Lens, but both have alot of talent and could be considered French u21-international if it was not for all the other talent in front of them. Neither I expect to be world beaters some day, but they will both be good players, and I fancy Boukari in the EPL will Paquet may find his way to Italy one day, such is their skill sets. Paquet is still 19 so he has time, and is a French u-19 player, but a step up is bound to come. Boukari on the other hand has played for the u-21 team once, and although he may opt for Togo one day, he has the pace to take him all over the continent. Shame that Lens dont use these two more. But then they do have the excellent Loic Remy right now so its understandable.

I Will Be Great Some Day!

There are so many more exciting talents throughout Ligue 1, and Ligue 2 and the CFA’s for sure. I clearly have not covered everyone, so please, let me in on your talented player you have been following. Highlights video, bio, stats or just a name and an explanation will suffice. Thanks guys and gals, hope to hear from you!

Category: France Ligue 1

Tags: France Ligue 1, Tag Index

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