Tottenham Hotspur should be eyeing up Lille OSC on multiple levels
By Aaron Coe
On the way to the annual coronation of PSG as French Ligue 1 champions, someone forgot to tell Lille. While Les Dogues may still finish second to PSG – LOSC is up 1 point with 1 game to go – the accomplishments of the club are something other clubs like Tottenham should take notice of. In fact, if Daniel Levy were really as shrewd as everyone says, he would be on his way to France to raid Lille OSC at multiple levels.
Spurs should start with what Lille did not want
As part of the announcement of the ownership change, sporting director Luis Campos left the club with immediate effect. Given it was an investment firm that purchased Lille, it might raise questions as to the suitability of Campos working with ENIC. Likely, however, it raises questions about whether or not Campus desires to work with an investment firm as owners.
The one thing that is certain is that if Daniel Levy is not looking at the currently unemployed Luis Campos as the first step in fixing the football operations, something is wrong. Some of the names associated with the Portuguese talent evaluator over the last decade are some of the biggest in the sport.
It was Luis Campos who helped get Kylian Mbappe pushed from the B team at Monaco to the first team, leading to an incredible £166million transfer. Mbappe is a great example of what Campos does particularly well, identify young talent to develop and sell on for huge profits.
Nicholas Pepe was a no-one in 2017 when signed by Lille. By 2019 he was sold for £72million a club record. Benjamin Mendy helped net Monaco over £25million in just one season. Bernardo Silva, Anthony Martial, and Fabinho have all been part of the talent evaluator’s portfolio over the last 10 years.
If ENIC really likes making money and wants to buy young and low and sell high, Campos should be on the line. Beyond what Lille did not want and Tottenham needs most in Campos, there are some other pieces the new owners have kept that Tottenham should be just as anxious to pry away from the French side.