Player Focus: Ligue 1’s New Young Playmakers Come to the Fore

For Ligue 1 watchers who enjoy a classical playmaker, it’s been a tough couple of months. It began back in late March when the most richly talented and enigmatic of them all, Yoann Gourcuff of Lyon, was the victim of a brutal tackle from Saint Etienne’s Renaud Cohade. In between aggravating his sore ankle whilst walking his dog and hurting his back on the brink of a comeback, the former Milan and Bordeaux midfielder has not played since.

That, however, was not the summer’s biggest blow for playmaker fans. James Rodríguez’s move from Monaco to Real Madrid evidently stripped France of one of its greatest talents, who had flourished at the tip of Claudio Ranieri’s midfield diamond. James was Ligue 1’s top assist provider of 2013/14, in case you needed reminding, with 12. The 23-year-old also scored 9 times himself and played an impressive 2.5 key passes per match during his single year in France.

If we add to this the injury to Lyon’s other star midfield creator Clément Grenier (4 goals and 5 assists, plus 2 key passes per game in 13/14) which will keep him out until November, plus a shoulder problem for Nabil Fekir, the Gerland club’s up-and-coming talent in the position, it is a sorry list of sidelined talent. Even if not strictly a number 10, the current absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic (James’ dauphin with 11 assists and 2.1 key passes per game last season) contributes to the picture.

So it was gratifying to see a few relatively fresh names stake their claims to pick up the slack as Ligue 1 gathered pace this weekend. Having started the campaign in prime form, Wahbi Khazri again made a strong contribution as his new club Bordeaux extended their 100% record under coach Willy Sagnol, winning 3-1 at Nice. Unusually for a centrally-positioned attacking midfielder, the 23-year-old Tunisian’s passing is perhaps not his strongest attribute. Yet his relatively modest return of 1 goal (a penalty) and no assists in the matches to date (and 1.3 key passes per appearance) doesn’t take account of his direct running. Khazri has won 3 penalties for his side (interestingly, taken by three different players and all scored) in the last 2 matches, which have been crucial to the functional Girondins’ progress.

The foul he drew to win a spot-kick at Nice, committed by Éric Bautheac, was typical of his invention and helped Sagnol’s men out of a hole. Before Cheick Diabaté converted the resulting penalty, they were a goal down and – by Sagnol’s admission – in danger of being overrun.

There is every indication that there is more to come from Khazri, snared from Bastia for a bargain €2m in the summer. Taking 2.3 shots per match – a rate he has maintained at the Chaban-Delmas – he scored 6 times in Ligue 1 last season, though he didn’t match his debut top-flight campaign of 7 goals and 8 assists in 22 matches. With pacy colleagues like the improving Diego Rolán and a finisher like Diabaté in front of him, he looks likely to augment his worth yet further as Bordeaux progress. 

Even younger and more precocious than Khazri is Morgan Sanson, who appears to be coming into his own at Montpellier in the wake of Rémy Cabella’s departure to Newcastle. It is the way of things at the Stade de la Mosson; Cabella himself took over the mantle of chief creator from Younes Belhanda – with the benefit of a year’s handover, if you like – after the latter went to Dynamo Kiev.

Cabella’s are big boots to fill. The 24-year-old scored 14 goals and made 5 assists last season. The latter figure might have been greater had the playmaker had genuine striking quality ahead of him; Cabella laid on 2.2 key passes per game, but the position of next highest scorer after him was tied by three players. Loanee M’Baye Niang, Souleymane Camara and Victor Hugo Montaño managed a measly 4 each. 

Sanson showed his readiness to take over in Montpellier’s 2-0 win over Metz at the Mosson on Saturday. He made an assist for Camara’s clincher, played 3 key passes and pulled off a deft goal-line clearance from Juan Manuel Falcón, preserving the hosts’ lead in the 78th minute, when it was still at 1-0. It all added up to a score of 9.3, making him the weekend’s highest-rated Ligue 1 player on WhoScored. With the 20-year-old now counting on the experienced former Borussia Dortmund forward Lucas Barrios in front of him, more of his passes might get turned into assists.

There is hope, too, for Marcos ‘Rony’ Lopes, the 18-year-old on loan from Manchester City who made his full debut for Lille at the weekend, against Lorient. Played in the space behind Ryan Mendes and Nolan Roux, he made some useful contributions, taking 3 shots (with one long-ranger drawing a good save from Benjamin Lecomte) and providing 3 key passes. 

Marseille and Marcelo Bielsa have their own answer to the puzzle, following their move to bring Abdelaziz Barrada back to Europe from the Middle East. He made a 31-minute debut as substitute in the win at Guingamp, delivering 2 key passes, and Bielsa will hope he can drag the 25-year-old’s Getafe form out of him. In his last season in La Liga (2012-13), Barrada scored 4 times and provided 6 assists, making 1.9 key passes and 1.5 dribbles per game. Brought through the Paris Saint-Germain academy but with little chance to impress, Marseille are now well set up to let him do just that. 

Ligue 1’s real star playmaker could well be an old name, however. Javier Pastore has started the season excellently, with 2 assists in the season opener at Reims and a rate of 2.7 key passes per match. With Ibrahimovic out, the Argentinian played on the left of attack in Friday’s dull draw at Evian, but this should not become a regular move. A three-man midfield – in a similar role to that which his compatriot Ángel Di María flourished in the second half of last season – is where his talents look best served.

So the kings are dead – long live the kings. Despite a few notable absentees, Ligue 1 is still well-stocked with midfielders to get fans off their seats.

Which of these players has impressed you most so far this season? Let us know in the comments below