July the 14th is a famous day in the French calendar, the commemoration of a bloody event in 1789 when revolutionaries stormed the Bastille fortress and prison, freeing the inmates and setting down a huge marker before the end of the tyranny of the Bourbon monarchs.
Fast forward 233 years and France is still a proud nation with the shout of Egalite, Liberte and Fraternite still chorused around the country. And on the subject of our beloved football, France are the world champions and one of the favourites for Qatar 2022, while Ligue 1 is one of the top five leagues in European football.
The whole nation takes a holiday on Thursday 14th July and that might well trip into Friday too. It’s a time for leisure and entertainment, so what better way for this SBOTOP writer to mark Bastille Day than bringing the latest Ligue 1 2022 news and updates?
Despite having the best players; life in the capital city is not all sweetness and light at the moment. Kylian Mbappe re-signed with the French champions to a great fanfare but, according to the French press, one of his demands was that he could have a say in player recruitment and retention.
Now if that isn’t going to cause unrest in the dressing room what is?
And, believe it or not, Mbappe is in disagreement with Lionel Messi, 12 years his senior and seven times Ballon D’Or winner, over the worth to the team of Neymar. The Brazilian is a mate of Messi’s but Mbappe reckons he lacks discipline.
Everyone likes a youngster telling the old guys how to behave!
There have been images of the players ignoring each other streaming on social media, but back in the real world PSG have joined the race to sign Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde.
Anyhow; the Ligue 1 2022 betting odds have installed the Parisiens as heavily odds on favourites to win the 2022/23 title, but which teams are best-placed to storm the Parc des Princes in 2022 (as Lille did in 2021), and what have they been up to so far this summer?
Lyon
After stumbling to an eighth-placed finish last season, their worst performance this century, Lyon are plotting a return to the top four and they have strengthened their hand with the return of Alexandre Lacazette. The 31-year-old will lead the line for his boyhood club and he is joined by Corentin Tolisso who has transferred from Bayern to Lyon. And with an eye on the future, the club has promoted 18 year old Rwandan right back, Irvyn Lomami, to the first team squad after he impressed in the second team last term.
Lucas Paqueta could be on his way out as Lyon is ready to consider offers of around £55m for the Brazilian, and he is open to joining a Premier League club.
Olympique Marseilles
OM are one of the best placed teams to challenge PSG and they are on the recruitment trail with Arsenal wing-back Nuno Tavares likely to sign on loan after just one season at the Emirates. The youngster started well in the Premier League, keeping the highly rated Kieran Tierney out of the side, but he struggled for consistency in the second half of the campaign and now looks Marseille bound.
And OM are also looking to raid the Premier League for a second defender, with Manchester City’s 20-year-old prospect Yan Couto in their sights.
AS Monaco
After a slow start to the 2021/22 campaign Philippe Clement led Monaco to a third-placed finish with a nine-match winning run at the end of the season; and that sees them return to Champions League football in the play-off rounds.
At the start of the summer Monaco lost 22-year-old midfield star Aurelien Tchouameni who moved to Real Madrid in an 80m Euros switch, and they have started to spend with the signing of utility forward Takumi Minamino from Liverpool for a fee of around 15m Euros. The Japan international faced huge competition for a place at Anfield as Jurgen Klopp has put together a stellar forward line, and he spent last season on loan at Southampton.
Minamino is an exciting addition but there is work to be done to replace Tchouameni. Monaco missed out on Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma who has gone to Spurs and they are now targeting Leicester’s Boubakary Soumare. The 23-year-old made 19 appearances for the Foxes last season but is open to a move back to France.
We’re not expecting a revolution this year; but at least Lyon, Marseilles and Monaco have PSG in their sights.
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