Whilst Loïs Openda and Seko Fofana left Lens at the end of last season’s highly successful Ligue 1 campaign, Danso remained, despite offers from elsewhere. The Austrian international had the choice to join Napoli, however, whilst he said it was a “difficult decision”, he ultimately decided to remain at the Stade Bollaert. 

Collectively, Lens struggled in the first quarter of the current Ligue 1 season, however, the Austrian is now once again displaying some of his best form. His performances have caught the eyes of Premier League sides, and according to Foot Mercato, two mid-table teams in England’s top flight have made enquiries to Danso’s entourage. 

However, Danso himself is seemingly against a January departure. He wants to complete the season with Lens, taking the club as far as possible in Europe, before representing Austria at EURO 2024. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Reports of a potential departure for Varane have grown in recent weeks. The Frenchman has a contract with the Red Devils that runs until the summer of 2025, however, he is playing an increasingly peripheral role under Erik Ten Hag. With Manchester United struggling, a squad rebuild is reportedly envisaged and Varane is reportedly one of the assets that the club are looking to sell, potentially as soon as the January transfer window. 

Varane says he will finish his career ‘either at Real Madrid, Manchester United or Lens.’

L’Équipe report that Varane has been left frustrated by his demotion, and he would therefore be open to a departure. The options are not innumerate, and speaking to the French publication, his entourage have denied reports of a potential move to Saudi Arabia. 

Varane, in the past, has said that he would finish his career, either at Real Madrid, Manchester United or Lens. A return to Les Sang et Or is therefore a possibility, according to L’Équipe. A deal could prove financially difficult for Lens, however. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Diouf left Rennes in search of first-team assurances. Moving away from France to join the Swiss Super League was a risk, however, it was one that paid off. He was a key figure in the Basel side that reached the semi-final of the UEFA Europa Conference League. That run was the perfect exposition for Diouf’s talents, and a nomination for the Golden Boy, ultimately won by Jude Bellingham, deservedly followed. 

Whilst Diouf’s loan to Basel was made permanent at the end of last season, it quickly became evident that he wouldn’t remain with the Swiss club, and so it proved. Lens were in the market for a replacement for Saudi Arabia-bound Seko Fofana and Diouf seemingly fit the bill. Just one year after leaving Rennes, he returned to Ligue 1. It was a step up, and Diouf’s adaptation has been slower than desired and expected. 

Diouf utilised sparingly in European competition

He is yet to earn the trust of manager Franck Haise, who has been reticent to field Diouf in European fixtures. Amidst Lens’ start-of-season struggles, Les Sang et Or opted to sign free agent Nampalys Mendy and the former Leicester City man has been favoured in the Champions League. 

Diouf is arguably a victim of what was a poor transfer window from Lens. He certainly wasn’t Lens’ worst midfield signing. Stijn Spierings only lasted a few weeks at the club before returning to Toulouse, whom he had departed on a free transfer in the summer. Spierings was “poorly cast” and ill-suited to Lens style. Diouf isn’t a like-for-like replacement for Fofana, but that is seemingly what the hierarchy at the time wanted him to be. Grégory Thil, responsible for Diouf’s arrival has since stepped back from his role. 

Whilst, like Spierings, Diouf may have been poorly cast, he is young enough – and certainly talented enough – to adapt, and adapt he must if this transfer is to be a success. Diouf will need to push on in 2024 in order to vaildate Lens’ investment and also to prove that his spell at Basel was not a flash-in-the-pan.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

A brace from the substitute Terem Moffi settled a tight contest between OGC Nice and RC Lens in the final match of the year before the Ligue departs for its winter break. 

The game was delayed as smoke billowed out of the Tribune Sud; a wave of fireworks lit up by the Ultras filled the half-empty Allianz Riviera with noise and sound. The explosions died down but the fog of war remained, as the players were left to emulate the pyrotechnic display on the field. 

Each side had their chance to control possession but dominance did not translate easily to threat, as both teams roamed forward but struggled to create many clear-cut opportunities to test either keeper. 

The best opportunity came late in the half as Facundo Medina, tasked tonight in the centre of the Lens’ back three, for the first time looked ill-composed at the heart of the defence. A series of poor decisions almost allowed for Hicham Boudaoui and Evann Guessand to gain possession in the penalty box, but his recovery and their miscoordination did enough to prevent threat from becoming opportunity.

The second half brought far more excitement to the match as the game opened up into a more end-to-end affair, as the attacking talent of both sides began to show their qualities. 

Boudaoui began to grow in influence for Nice as gaps opened up in the final third for the player to express his ability to control the ball in tight spaces, and his combinations with Jérémie Boga’s darting movements on the wing looked to continuously terrorise the left flank. 

Still, Lens came the closest to opening the scoring when David da Costa’s freekick bounced off the post and onto the goalkeeper Marcin Bułka. The ball bounced fortunately for the keeper to save him from what would have been an unlucky own goal. 

Despite the game delivering more high-quality chances, it took until the final ten minutes for Nice to open the scoring. Salis Abdul Samed, who had been until this point flawless in his role protecting the Lens backline, conceded a clumsy penalty as he brought down Guessand. 

Moffi who had only been on the pitch for a few minutes stepped up to take the spot-kick and shot past Brice Samba to open the scoring. The second came soon after to put the game out of reach for Lens. 

In a breathtaking movement, Boga skipped past the defence and attacked the halfspace, he dragged Samba towards him before tauntingly chipping a cross towards Moffi to head into the open net. 

This result means that Nice will end the first half of the season in second place with the distance between them and PSG remaining at five points, while Lens had an opportunity tonight to come within touching distance of the podium positions but will now finish the year in seventh. 

Nice player ratings

Marcin Bułka, 5

Melvin Bard, 5

Dante, 6 – A solid defensive performance, who cut out attacks in the first half to keep Lens from creating momentum. 

Antoine Mendy, 5

Jordan Lotomba, 5

Pablo Rosario, 5

Hicham Boudaoui, 6 – The Algerian international grew into the game in the second half but was left frustrated with his teammate’s finishing. 

Morgan Sanson, 5 

Jérémie Boga, 7 – The most creative player on the pitch, his involvement in the second half looked to open the game up from the left wing.

Evann Guessand, 4 – He struggled to influence the game as the starting number nine and his poor finishing throughout the match was compounded by the appearance of Moffi scoring twice within minutes of featuring. 

Gaëtan Laborde, 4

Lens player ratings 

Brice Samba, 4 

Massadio Haïdara, 4

Facundo Medina, 5 – Performed fine in an unfamiliar role as the marshall of the defensive line, had a poor sequence in the first half but generally did well to organise the backline. 

Abdukodir Khusanov, 4 – Struggled in the second half and his positioning was partially at fault for the second goal as he stepped too far out of position. 

Przemysław Frankowski, 5

Salis Abdul Samed, 5 – If not for the mistake that opened the scoring this would have been a highly composed defensive performance, but the clumsy error cost Lens the game. 

Neil El Aynaoui, 4 

Ruben Aguilar, 4

David da Costa, 5

Wesley Saïd, 4

Florian Sotoca, 4 

GFFN | Nick Hartland

Farioli’s options have been limited in recent weeks as he contends with injuries and suspensions. It will be no different against Les Sang et Or. Todibo is out after his red card during last weekend’s defeat against Le Havre AC, whilst Ndayishimiye is out following an accumulation of red cards. 

As a result of the multiple absentees, Alexis Claude-Maurice could make his first start of the season, Thr former France U21 international has been dogged by injuries but will be fit to face Lens. Terem Moffi, who missed the trip to Le Havre with a hamstring niggle, will reintegrate the group, but there is a chance that Evan Guessand will get the nod over the Nigeria international. 

Nice likely lineup v Lens

Marcin Bulka; Romain Perraud, Dante, Pablo Rosario, Jordan Lotomba; Alexis Claude-Maurice, Hicham Bouadoui, Morgan Sanson; Jérémie Boga, Evan Guessand, Gaëtan Laborde. (L’Éq)

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Letexier’s joke did not go down well with Still. The Reims manager had been heavily linked with the Sunderland job in midweek and even made an unrelated trip to the UK, which had been mistaken for talks with the Championship club. “I can’t deny that there is interest in me, I can confirm this, just as there has been in the past, like last summer and like these recent weeks. I find it flattering, without being arrogant at all, or pretentious. But for now, and today, I am the manager of Stade de Reims. I am still the manager of Stade de Reims,” he said on Thursday, whilst also complaining about having been portrayed as a “mercenary”. 

‘I hope that I will be the Reims manager for many more months or years’ – Still

A turbulent week ended in a defeat for Reims, who fell on the wrong side of fine margins in a tight match at the Stade Bollaert on Saturday evening. Still was left frustrated by some of the refereeing decisions during the match, and he approached Letexier post-match to express his dissatisfaction. Letexier responded, “Don’t worry, it (the refereeing) will be better.” 

“I found it funny, or not funny at all. He said something like, ‘It will be better in England.’ I didn’t find it very appropriate, but it’s not a story, it’s not interesting,” reacted Still in his post-match interview. 

Letexier made remark ‘without any ill intention’

Contacted by L’Équipe, Letexier has responded to the controversy. “At the end of the match, I simply said, ‘Maybe best of luck in England’. It was meant to be light-hearted, with a smile and without any ill intention. He misinterpreted me,” he said.

Still also addressed his future as Reims manager, stating that the defeat to Lens (2-0) will not be his last match with Les Stadistes. ” It definitely won’t be my last match, unless I’m fired tomorrow. I don’t think that’s planned. I am the manager of Reims and I hope that I will be the Reims manager for many more months or years to come,” he said. 

Still will be hoping that the talk surrounding his managerial future will abate so that he can focus on getting Reims back on-track. The club have lost four of their last five matches, albeit they have faced the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, AS Monaco and OGC Nice in that time, and have dropped to 8th in Ligue 1.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

The player has yet to make the transition to the first-team squad but his performances for Les Sang et Or in the Youth League have caught the attention of the London club, with the left-sided centre-back impressing in matches against Arsenal FC, Sevilla FC, and PSV. 

His current contract with the French club is coming to an end in 2025, and with this in mind, this could be enough to trigger the Premier League side to attempt to pick up the young talent before he makes his debut for Lens. 

If the defender were to leave Les Sang et Or he would be joining his brother Modibo Sagnan (24) in transitioning from their formative club, as his brother left in 2019 and now plies his trade in the Eredivisie with FC Utrecht.

GFFN | Nick Hartland

Busi was initially in the starting XI to face Nice last Sunday, however, the Belgian was injured in the warm-up and therefore played no part in the encounter at the Allianz Riviera. He will play no further part this calendar year with Still confirming a hamstring tear. Busi will miss the matches against Lens and Le Havre AC, at the very least. 

Marshall Munetsi (ankle) and Josh Wilson-Esbrand (shoulder) are also both out for Les Stadistes, and neither will play again until 2024. Keito Nakamura is expected to once again start from the bench with Junya Ito expected to partner Mohamed Daramy upfront. 

Reims likely lineup v Lens

Yehvann Diouf; Yunis Abdelhamid, Joseph Okumu, Emmanuel Agbadou; Thibault De Smet, Teddy Teuma, Azor Matusiwa, Amir Richardson, Thomas Foket; Mohamed Daramy, Junya Ito. (L’Éq)

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Facundo Medina and Florian Sotoca are both absent for Saturday night’s match at the Stade Bollaert, however, Haise has also been deprived of Jonathan Gradit, Deiver Machado and Nampalys Mendy, three players who would have likely started. Lens are therefore without five regular starters for the encounter. The winter break is seemingly coming at the right time for Haise. 

Meanwhile, Wesley Saïd is set to start up front for Lens, ahead of Elye Wahi, who has struggled for form since his summer move from Montpellier HSC. There may be an element of rotation with a tricky trip to OGC Nice awaiting Haise on Wednesday. 

Lens likely lineup v Reims

Brice Samba; Massadio Haïdara, Kevin Danso, Abdukodir Khusanov; Przemyslaw Frankowski, Neil El Aynaoui, Salis Abdul Samed, Ruben Aguilar; Angelo Fulgini, Wesley Saïd, Adrien Thomasson. (L’Éq)

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

The Spanish side needed to come away from France with a victory to secure European football while Les Sang et Or could progress with a draw. 

Sevilla dominated the ball but failed to create opportunities to turn their dominance into an advantage, while Lens struggled to break out of their half. Despite this, it was Lens who opened the scoring with a penalty that would later become the focus of Sevilla’s disappointment, as it appeared that Facundo Medina initiated his own contact when he went to ground in the Sevilla box. 

The visitors would go on to equalise with their own penalty before eventually losing the game late into added time after a sloppy play allowed Angelo Fulgini to secure progression to the Europa League for Lens. 

Sevilla frustrated with the result 

Following the loss, the Sevilla manager, Diego Alonso expressed his disappointment in the match, in a transcription provided by L’Equipe: ‘Everyone saw the same game: it was our team which dominated from the first minute.’ 

The manager continued ‘We created a lot of things but it was difficult for us, as in previous matches, to make the difference. I think we dominated in almost every area, including defensively. We hardly let Lens have a shot on goal.’ Speaking on the penalty decision awarded to Lens, Alonso had this to say, ‘The goal, the penalty or the so-called Lens penalty, is an isolated fact. We underestimated Lens

The Sevilla goalscorer, Sergio Ramos, was to the point in quotations provided by AS: ‘‘We’re screwed as always when we are eliminated from a competition. We had a good opportunity to win here and qualify for the Europa League… the game turned out the way it did, but at least we have a clear conscience for having left our all out on the field.’ 

However, on the penalty the former Paris Saint-Germain defender had this to say, ‘I put my hands on my head watching the penalty. It’s crazy. It’s a penalty that only the referee has seen. We don’t usually linger on referee decisions but I think what happened today was scandalous.’ Before adding that, ‘I don’t know why it happens to us. If it’s a matter of respect or something else, but the little things that happen in these types of games are very decisive. Small details make the difference.’

This was a bitter result for Sevilla to process, and it leaves Alonso in a perilous situation as the team are yet to record a victory under the manager outside their match in the Copa del Rey against an amateur side in CD Quintanar. While, for Lens, this was a crucial win that will provide them with knockout European football for the first time since the 2006/07 season.  

GFFN | Nick Hartland