Despite splurging a club record fee of £97.5 million on Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea were one of six Premier League clubs to enjoy a positive transfer balance this summer along with Aston Villa, Everton, Brighton, Southampton and Wolves. Crucial to staying in the green was a massive fire sale of Cobham academy products: Fikayo Tomori (Milan), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Tammy Abraham (Roma), Lewis Bate (Leeds United), Faustino Anjorin (Lokomotiv Moscow)…the list goes on and on. One player who has immediately taken to the Premier League like a duck to water since leaving Chelsea is Valentino Livramento.
Valentino Livramento Is One To watch
Born in Croydon, Livramento joined Chelsea’s academy in 2009 and quickly progressed through the club’s youth ranks, excelling as a right wingback in Andy Myers’ developmental side and eventually winning the Academy Player of the Year award for the 2020/21 season, following in the footsteps of Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher, Dominic Solanke, and many more. However, rather than agree a contract extension with his boyhood club and compete with Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi and César Azpilicueta for playing time under Thomas Tuchel, Livramento chose to depart the club on a permanent transfer. Perhaps motivated by the club’s unsuccessful pursuit of Achraf Hakimi from Inter Milan, Livramento realized he’d either be used as a fringe player or become the latest promising talent to join Chelsea’s loan army, and elected to join Southampton on a five-year contract for a fee of £5 million; Chelsea, wisely, inserted a release clause north of £40 million.
Rather than slowly ushering him into the team, Ralph Hasenhuttl chose to throw him into the deep end and start him on opening day, a 3-1 comeback victory for Everton at home. He remained in the line-up for the following match, a 1-1 draw at home against Manchester United. Completing three out of three dribbles, winning five out of six ground duels, and registering six interceptions, the youngster slotted in superbly on the right side of Saints’ back four and was given the Man of the Match award for his performance.
Once again, Livramento played the full 90 minutes in consecutive draws against Newcastle and West Ham, but perhaps his finest performance came on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium. Going up against a star-studded attack featuring Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Bernardo Silva, Livramento delivered a superb display that demonstrated his world-class potential.
Whether stepping in and winning the ball back with a clean and measured tackle, or using his sheer pace to burst forward and put Joao Cancelo under pressure or recover defensively and shrug an attacker off the ball, or intercepting a wayward pass and keeping possession under pressure, he delivered a display that was only marred by a late yellow card and his immediate substitution.
Southampton have suffered various key departures this past summer with Danny Ings, Ryan Bertrand and Jannik Vestergaard trading the South Coast for the West Midlands, and their sole win has come in an EFL Cup fixture against Newport County. But if Livramento can continue his superb form on the right side of defence, Southampton will be well on their way to an eleventh consecutive season in the top-flight and a productive, young rebuild under Hasenhuttl.
Getafe On The Ropes
The 2021/22 season is still in its primordial stages, and yet, we’ve already witnessed the first managerial casualties of the campaign. Eusebio Di Francesco and Leonardo Semplici were sacked by Hellas Verona and Cagliari, respectively, on Tuesday, and the next coaching change could be in Madrid. Michel was given the Herculean task of replacing Jose Bordalas as Getafe manager, and whilst Bordalas has since led his new club Valencia into the top three, Michel’s fortunes couldn’t be any different. He found himself on the losing end against Bordalas on opening day, and while his team looked close to securing a draw against Sevilla, a last-minute winner from Erik Lamela gave the three points to the Andalusians. Defeats to Barcelona and Elche followed, which meant that Saturday’s match against Rayo Vallecano became a do-or-die fixture for the embattled manager.
Within the first five minutes, it already seemed like it wasn’t going to be Getafe’s day, as Enes Unal’s free kick bounced off the post and Djene Dakonam inadvertently smacked the face of Randy Nteka, giving Rayo an early penalty which was promptly converted by Oscar Trejo. And whilst the halftime substitution of Florentino Luis helped give the Azulones plenty of mobility and bite in midfield, it wasn’t enough to turn the tide as Pathé Ciss doubled the margin from close range via a corner kick. The celebrations furthered on a sunny afternoon in Madrid as Ciss slid a through ball towards the path of Radamel Falcao, who needed just 10 minutes to convert on his long-awaited return to La Liga.
The result is Michel’s ninth consecutive loss in La Liga, the third-worst streak in the history of the Spanish top-flight for a coach after Pako Ayestaran and Jose Espada. With new signing Jakub Jankto being stretchered off with an ankle injury and two dates with Atletico Madrid and Real Betis coming up, it seems the writing is on the wall for Michel, who lamented: “My future does not depend on myself. A lot is happening at the moment and everything is against us…the championship is cruel.”
Falcao Back In Spain
Apart from all but confirming Michel’s early dismissal, the match marked a romantic homecoming for Radamel Falcao. Exactly 10 years to the date after scoring his first goal in La Liga for Atletico Madrid, El Tigre bagged his 53rd goal in his 69th La Liga match. After an injury-plagued spell at Galatasaray, Falcao signed a two-year contract with the newly-promoted side and was presented at the Estadio de Vallecas in front of over 2,500 fans. It would have surely been a bigger crowd had it not been for a large portion of Rayo fans boycotting the ceremony in protest of widely unpopular president Raul Martin Presa — some fans even shouted at Presa to resign during the player’s unveiling.
At 35, Falcao is no longer the world-class forward that he was during his previous spell in Madrid, when he led Atleti to victory in the Europa League Final against an Athletic Club side captained by Andoni Iraola — his current manager at Rayo — but he still has the same lethal goalscorer’s instinct that saw him become a revelation over his two seasons in Spain. Rather than competing for silverware, Falcao will be looking to keep Rayo afloat in the top division, all the while wearing the #3 in homage to his late father. “The number 3 was available and for my father, this had a lot of meaning. He played with this number and I want to do this tribute now that he’s no longer with me.”
Lens v Lille History
On May 9, 2021, Lens hosted Lille in a match with pivotal ramifications for both sides. Les Dogues found themselves on the front foot early on after Seko Fofana clumsily clattered into Jonathan Bamba, allowing Burak Yilmaz to convert from the spot in the fourth minute. Thirty minutes later, Clement Michelin dug the hosts into an even deeper hole by picking up his second yellow in six minutes and receiving his marching orders, and Yilmaz quickly made the hosts pay by curling a shot from 30 yards out into the top left corner.
The newly promoted side’s humiliation was completed in the 60th minute as Jonathan David pounced on a botched save from Jean-Louis Leca and fired in from close range. Lille would go on to clinch their first league title in 10 years two weeks later, defeating Angers on the final day of the season and edging Paris Saint-Germain to the championship by a sole point; Lens, on the other hand, would go on to lose 0-3 to Bordeaux and draw to Monaco on the final day of the season, missing out on European football by a sole point.
Lens v Lille Weekend
Four months later, the two teams faced off at the same venue in a Derby du Nord that featured several new faces. Rather than Michelin, who joined AEK Athens in the summer, it was new signing Przemysław Frankowski who occupied the left wing-back position, whilst Facundo Medina and Kevin Danso started in place of Steven Fortes and Loic Bade, who joined Rennes in the summer for a fee of €17 million. Ignatius Ganago and Yannick Cahuzac, both of whom started in the previous derby, found themselves relegated to the bench for Florian Sotoca and PSG loanee Arnaud Kalimuendo.
As for Lille, Angel Gomes, who spent the previous season on loan at Boavista after joining on a free transfer from Manchester United, started on the left flank in place of the injured Jonathan Bamba, whilst the summer departures of Mike Maignan, Luiz Araujo and Boubakary Soumare saw Ivo Grbic, Jonathan Ikone and Benjamin Andre occupy their respective spots. The biggest departure, however, has been felt on the bench; whilst Christophe Galtier continues to lead Nice into the upper echelon of the Ligue 1 table after masterminding Lille’s title win, Jocelyn Gourvennec has failed to silence his doubters thus far. After leading Lille to victory over PSG in the Trophée des Champions, Gourvennec’s side took five points from their first five league matches, and failed to capitalize on their man advantage against Wolfsburg with the German side holding onto a stalemate after John Brooks’ expulsion.
Wild Scenes
After a nail-biting first half that saw both sides come close to breaking the deadlock, the match was put on hold for over 30 minutes after various Lens fans poured onto the pitch during halftime to attack the visiting support, forcing riot police to intervene. They were able to resume play as 50 police officers formed a barrier in front of the Marek Stand to protect the Lille supporters, but not before six fans were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. After the shameful events of Nice-Marseille and Bordeaux-Marseille, it is the latest example of violent fan behaviour continuing to blemish Ligue 1 matches — a league that continues to lag behind other European divisions when it comes to protecting both players and supporters.
Les Dogues came within inches of opening the scoring after Benjamin Andre’s cross found Burak Yilmaz, but the Turkish forward’s header bounced just outside the post — shortly after, Ikone and Yilmaz forced Leca into performing some goalkeeping heroics to keep the score level. The opening goal finally came in the 74th minute as Kakuta wriggled his way past two Lille players and slid a pass towards Frankowski, who blitzed past Jose Fonte and calmly slotted past Grbic. It was the Polish international’s first goal since his arrival from Chicago Fire, and it proved enough for Lens to win their first Derby du Nord since April 29, 2006.
Lens Recruitment And Style
Whilst the defending champions end the weekend in 15th — one point above the relegation play-off spot — Lens are third in Ligue 1, trailing league leaders Paris Saint-Germain by six points and Marseille, who have a game in hand, by one point. It is a testament to the impressive recruitment by sporting director Florent Ghisolfi, who has replaced Loic Bade and Steven Fortes with Kevin Danso and Christopher Wooh whilst enjoying a hefty profit, secured the loan return of Arnaud Kalimuendo from PSG and completed permanent deals for Gael Kakuta and Wuilker Farinez, and bringing Deiver Machado and Wesley Said from Toulouse. More importantly, it is a testament to the fantastic work that Franck Haise has achieved since replacing Philippe Montanier on a caretaker basis on February 25, 2020.
After previous spells as an assistant at Lens and Lorient, Haise only managed two matches for Lens prior to the pause of football due to the pandemic — two victories — and it proved to be enough for Lens to edge Ajaccio by a point for second place and secure automatic promotion after the season was cancelled. And while his Lens team missed out on Europe by a sliver, he was nevertheless rewarded with a two-year contract extension and has rewarded the board’s trust with an unbeaten start to the 2021/22 campaign.
In a similar system to Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta, Haise’s Lens operate in a 3-4-1-2 that can often seem like a 3-4-3 diamond with the two wingbacks — Jonathan Clauss and Frankowski — bursting forward on the flanks and linking up well with the two central midfielders. Under the management of Haise, Les Sang et Or are on course towards securing European football for the first time in 15 years, and they’re doing so with one of the most attractive styles of play on the continent.
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