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.
Could Christophe Galtier be the next Tottenham coach?
Many Tottenham fans have a desire to see someone like Marcelo Bielsa come into Tottenham and introduce his all-out intensity on the team. However, what happens if Bielsa does not work? That is the question Lille asked.
The Argentine coach lasted all of 14 matches with the French club in 2017 and left with the team languishing in second to the last place with only 3 wins from 14. Lille brought Christophe Galtier to the club – who had managed St. Etienne for eight-year – to take over.
That first season was difficult as Lille only barely avoided relegation. However, since that time, Les Dogues have steadily moved up the French footballing world. Today, just three seasons later, they are first place in Ligue 1 and will be heading back to the Champions League for the second time in three seasons.
This past season Lille was in the Europa League and was knocked out in the Round of 32 by Ajax. Thus while Christophe Galtier does not have a ton of European experience or success, he has been in Europe for what will be the third straight season and are just one win away from a major upset in taking the Ligue 1 title.
If Tottenham truly wants someone having success NOW, Christophe Galtier is not a bad choice, despite not even being on the shortlist right now. Additionally, bringing Christophe Galtier to Tottenham may help in some recruitment from Lille too.
Lille has several players that should interest Tottenham
Names like Sven Botman – the young center back – and Mike Maignan – the French goalkeeper – were already names being connected with Tottenham in the transfer market. As you look across the Lille team you see a number of young players should be catching the eye of Tottenham scouts.
Botman is a clear no-brainer as a big, young (21), left-footed center-back from the Ajax academy, it seems like Botman could really develop at the club and provide support in a big area of need. With Maignan, the idea is he would be the era-apparent for Hugo Lloris who has done well this season but is getting no younger.
Lille also has a couple of Americans Tottenham should consider
While Timothy Weah is probably the bigger name of the two, he along with Jonathan David are two young center-forwards, that could help provide the cover Harry Kane still seems to be lacking. If we do not want to ever get cover for Kane, we could do a lot, lot worse than signing Boubakary Soumare to partner in the deep midfield with Pierre Højbjerg.
Soumare has been linked with several clubs in England and along with Højbjerg, and Oliver Skipp could make for a dreamy deep midfield at N17.
Ultimately, Tottenham Hotspur may go in a different direction and continue to not have a Director of Football, hire a different coach, and sign older players looking to appease Harry Kane for one more season.
However, if Daniel Levy and ENIC are serious about making Tottenham the club they want, they have to continue down the path started with Mauricio Pochettino of building from the ground up with young talent. At Lille, these are all young players who have gotten big minutes and are finding real success under Christophe Galtier. It sure would be nice if Tottenham could say the same next season.