10 Frenchmen that every football club should scout – Part 1

With Financial fair play (FFP) rules coming into effect soon, many of the top football clubs will not be able to stretch their financial muscle, at least not as much as they used to. Value for money will be one thing that every club will be after. One market that offers it better than anyone else is the French football. Here is a list of 5 players that every top club should scout, as in my opinion, they could potentially be excellent signings for the respective clubs.

Remy Cabella – A 22-year old attacking midfielder, currently plying his trade for Montpellier, Cabella has been described as someone who has exceptional technical ability. Even though the team is struggling, Cabella is having an excellent season. He, so far this season, has scored 5 goals and has 3 assists in the 16 games he has played for the club. Remy is a French youth international, having represented French Under-21s 17 times, scoring 4 goals in the process. Big things are expected of Cabella and he is a future French international for sure.

Wissam Ben Yedder – Ben Yedder is a 22-year old striker who is currently playing for Toulouse. One of the reasons why Toulouse made such a good start to the season was the form of Ben Yedder. This season, he has been absolutely prolific and in 15 matches, has scored 9 goals and made 1 assist for his team mates. One thing going against the player is his attitude as he and several other French youth players were banned from French national side until June 2014 for an unauthorized night out while on national duty for Under-21 team.

Eric Bautheac – Bautheac is a 25-year old striker who is currently playing for Nice. Bautheac is a different sort of striker when compared to Ben Yedder; he brings other players into play as well. That is also suggested by the numbers – in 15 games that he has played for Nice, he has scored 5 goals and has set up 4 for his team.

Romain Hamouma – Romain is a 25-year old attacking midfielder currently plying his trade for Saint-Etienne. So far this term, Romain has scored 4 goals and has had 1 assist. Apart from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, he has been one of the stand out performers for his club. Given that some teams are heavily reliant on strikers for their goals, someone like Romain, with his goals from midfield would be a perfect fit for any top flight club.

Mathieu-Philippe Peybernes – Peybernes is a 22 year old Central defender who is currently playing for Sochaux. He, like many others in the list, is a French youth international and has represented France in Under-18s, 19s and 21s. An added advantage with Peybernes is that he can also play in midfield. Every team needs a good defence and a central defender is the most important cog in that wheel. As the saying goes, good attack can win you games but good defence can win you league titles. Peybernes, I think, would be an excellent addition to any football squad.

These are the first five in the list that I have compiled and will be back with the second part of the list very soon.