As a pivotal transfer window approaches for RC Lens, in which position will the club need to strengthen if the door is open for a recruit? This is the debate between our journalists William Tertrin and Laurent Hess.
An attacker, and quickly!
“Whether Will Still stays in a 3-man pattern or establishes a 4-man defense, the result remains the same: you need a scorer! M'Bala Nzola has a lot of qualities, but he cannot carry all the weight of the attack on his shoulders. We saw its limits against OM, and we absolutely need a different profile. We can think of Wesley Saïd and his technique, but difficult to count on number 22 for a whole season, with his too regular injuries.
Concerning Florian Sotoca, his great burst of energy should not mask his loss of influence this season. As for young Rémy Labeau-Lascary, it's a little too tight, at least for the moment. A fairly fast, technical and skillful striker would do Will Still's team a lot of good, especially if they want to qualify for Europe at the end of the season. In Ligue 1, quite a few competing clubs have their serial scorers (Barcola, Greenwood, David, Lacazette), while Lens is still looking for itself…”
William TERTRIN
“A winger, and a central defender if Danso leaves”
“I followed the RC Lens match in Reims and I really liked the performance of the Sang et Or. With Danso and Khusanov, I find that Still can afford to play with only two central defenders. But offensively, his team remains limited. Especially on the sides, I find. In point, Nzola does the job, he's a buffalo, he weighs, he fixes. This is why I would not go for a pure center forward this winter, but rather a second striker or a winger.
The squad was built with pistons, so if Still wants to continue playing with two central defenders rather than three, he would need at least one additional winger. In this position, he really doesn't have many people apart from Zaroury, who is still struggling to establish himself, while Fulgini, Labeau-Lascary, Saïd or even Sotoca are not “real” wingers. Afterwards, in the event of a transfer of Danso or Khusanov this winter, I think we will have to recruit a central defender. Gradit was not downgraded for no reason, and Malang Sarr does not seem to me to have the makings of a starter. The RCL would lose too much quality if it had to rely on him. »
Laurent HESS
