What would Olympique Lyon look like without the sales of its biggest stars?

The fairy-tale question of what if seems pointless and silly, especially in the fast-paced world of football. Still, it’s worth considering what some of Europe’s big clubs would be like if they hadn’t sold their biggest stars to the slightly more illustrious football clubs of the old continent. In this article, we take a look at France’s Olympique Lyon and its potential roster of players now mostly based elsewhere.

Lyon have long had a very high quality and prolific football academy, from which names of the calibre of Karim Benzema, Alexandre Lacazette, Corentin Tolisso, and Nabil Fekir have emerged just to name a few. In addition to these young prospects, Lyon have proven themselves to be very solid oversellers.

Goalkeeper

One example of the club’s business acumen has been Hugo Lloris, the current number one goalkeeper for Tottenham Hotspur and the French national team. He came to Lyon from rival Nice, made a name for himself and only confirmed in England that he must be ranked among the narrowest of goalkeepers.

Defence

We could see Kenny Tete at right-back. Still only twenty-five years old, the Dutch defender left France before last season for second division side Fulham. His best days are still ahead of him and he showed at Lyon that he can definitely play football.

If it weren’t for him on the first flank of the defence, we could include current Les Gones captain Léo Dubois, who has now made his way into the France national team, in a potential starting eleven.

Samuel Umtiti, Marcelo, Dejan Lovren or Jason Denayer could make up the midfield pairing. Umtiti was a tremendous talent in his time and before he went into a spiral of injuries, he was performing above standard even in a Catalan Barcelona jersey, where fans hailed him as the new Puyol.

Marcelo, along with Denayer, are still at Lyon and have shown great quality over the long term. And Dejan Lovren? What to write about him? He has said himself that he is the best stopper in Europe. That’s enough.

The left-back would be replaced by Ferland Mendy, currently playing for the famous Real Madrid. In both France and Spain, he plays with vision, speed and confidence. Perhaps the greatest testament to his quality is the fact that he has virtually eliminated long-time Real mainstay, Brazilian chic Marcelo, from the lineup.

Backup

The midfield could be made up of the aforementioned Corentin Tolisso, Nabil Fekir, Tanguy Ndombélé, Miralem Pjanic, or Houssem Aouar, who still plays for Lyon. Tolisso, based at Bayern Munich, is another footballer demonstrating OL’s ability to produce world class footballers and at twenty-seven years of age, he is at an ideal footballing age.

Nabil Fekir may not be in the limelight as much and may not be heard of as much, but he has been one of the best players in the Spanish league since his transfer to Real Betis. Like Fekir, Tanguy Ndombélé left Lyon in the summer of 2019, but turned north and signed for Tottenham Hotspur, where he is one of the more widely used playmakers.

Miralem Pjanic may not have impressed much with his stint at Barcelona, but he clearly proved his extravagance at Juventus, Rome and Lyon. Houssem Aouar is one of the most wanted midfielders of today and it seems only a matter of time before he strengthens one of the strongest European teams.

Attack

Karim Benzema, Alexandre Lacazette, Memphis Depay and Anthony Martial. They all wore the white jersey of Olympique Lyon. Benzema is another alumnus who is now making a good name for French and Lyon football in the world. Of course, we all know that he has been spreading joy at the Santiago Bernabeu for some time now.

Lacazette transferred four years ago, as the team’s biggest star for €53 million, to Arsenal in London, where he is still kicking for the ambitions of the once top English club.

Dutchman Depay left as a free agent in the recently-ended transfer window for sunny Barcelona, and Martial, though seen as a product of rival AS Monaco, defended the colours of Lyon until he was 18. When he has the confidence of a coach, he can do great things.

All in all, this might be one of the best squads of the moment. Admittedly, the defensive back four doesn’t look very flashy, but despite the not-so-sound names, it would probably play its part. The midfield would be well balanced, creative and goal scoring. And the attacking line perhaps speaks for itself with its names. Definitely a solid mix of football.

Source: Transfermarkt