Laurent Blanc wants a competitor to Sael Kumbedi

Saël Kumbedi is one of the very good surprises of Olympique Lyonnais this season, just like Bradley Barcola for example. Arrived on tiptoe last summer, the former Le Havre took advantage of the misadventures of Malo Gusto, first injured, then concentrated on his transfer to Chelsea, to take the place and gain playing time. even rewarded him with a contract extension. The right side has largely given satisfaction, to the point of forgetting the future departure of Gusto. Laurent Blanc is also delighted with the player’s contribution. “I’m going to tell you a secretexplains the coach at a press conference. Before coming here, I watch the match against Lens (on October 2), he entered 15 or 20 minutes and I saw a close-up of him. I said to myself: “But this boy is 15 or 16 years old!” In addition against Lens which is an imposing athletic team. He progresses quickly, he is very serious, very diligent and he is not afraid of anything. And that, I like a lot. He does what needs to be done. It’s an image but when he has the knife between his teeth, he doesn’t let go. And he’s right.”

Now, at 18, he became the holder on the right of the defense in an unclear context. Despite this, he is not immune to seeing a competitor land this summer. While Gusto will take the direction of London, Kumbedi now appears as the only number one in the position but for Laurent Blanc, he needs someone more experienced in the legs. “We have to recruit a number one bis, that there is a little competition. He didn’t really have Sael because Malo was injured for a long time, in addition to his transfer to Chelsea. He had too little competition. He had an excellent half-season, he learns quickly but he has room for improvement. He has areas for improvement and he knows it. But he needs competition, and rather a competitor who is not the same age as him. Normally, you need a young person for the competition, but here you have to do the opposite (laughs)”. The young Kumbedi is warned. The hardest part begins.

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