5 Ligue 1 players English clubs should sign in January

French Ligue 1 has been a favourite shopping spot for English Premier League clubs over years. A good number of talented players are transferred in to EPL from Ligue 1 every season. William Gallas who joined Chelsea from Marseille, John Arne Riise who joined Liverpool from Monaco, and Jay-Jay Okocha who came from PSG to Bolton Wanderers are few of such transfers which were successful in the earlier part of this century.

But it was Didier Drogba, who joined Chelsea from Marseille in summer of 2004 that set the benchmark. Petr Cech (Rennes to Chelsea in 2004), Michael Essien (Lyon to Chelsea in 2005), Patrice Evra (Monaco to Manchester United in 2006), Hugo Lloris (Lyon to Tottenham in 2012), Eden Hazard (Lille to Chelsea in 2012) and N’Golo Kante (Caen to Leicester City in 2015) are some of the names who followed Drogba and made huge impact.

With the winter transfer window opening soon, several English clubs will be looking to strengthen their squad. In no particular order, here is the list of 5 current Ligue 1 players that EPL clubs should sign in this window:

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Jesé

Club – Paris Saint-Germain

Jesé in action for PSG against Roma.

Jesé was considered as one of the brightest young talents in Real Madrid academy when he broke the goal-scoring record for their reserve side. However he struggled to break into the first-team and often found himself as a backup to Real Madrid’s star studded forward line. An injury, which sidelined him for 9 months made the situation even worse.

The former Spanish youth international joined PSG in summer of 2016 with the hopes of finding back his form and goal-scoring prowess. However things didn’t go the right way, and Jesé was soon found in the French capital struggling with lack of form and gametime.

After scoring 2 goals from 14 matches in all competitions for the Parisian club, he joined his hometown club Las Palmas on loan in January. However the club decided not to sign him permanently due to his performances which didn’t meet their expectations. A season-long loan move to Stoke City followed, but it was marked with poor discipline as he ended his season by scoring just a goal from 13 matches.

Since returning to PSG in this summer, the 25-year old Spaniard has been overlooked by newly appointed manager Thomas Tuchel and is yet to feature in a match-day squad. PSG are trying to get rid of the player in this current scenario, and this means even signing the player permanently would be really cheap in the current market.

However signing Jesé involves high risk, considering his lack of form in last few seasons and previous EPL campaign. The two-time UEFA Champions League winner is a versatile attacker and would fit in any mid-table club who are trying to boost their forward options.

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