Lens, read in full

Read the story of

AFC Bournemouth Arsenal Aston Villa Brentford Brighton & Hove Albion Chelsea Coventry City Crystal Palace Everton Fulham Hull City Ipswich Town Leeds United Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Sunderland Tottenham Hotspur Alavés Athletic Club Atlético de Madrid Barcelona Celta de Vigo Deportivo de La Coruña Elche Espanyol Getafe Levante Málaga Osasuna Racing de Santander Rayo Vallecano Real Betis Real Madrid Real Sociedad Sevilla Valencia Villarreal Atalanta Bologna Cagliari Como Fiorentina Frosinone Genoa Internazionale Juventus Lazio Lecce Milan Monza Napoli Parma Roma Sassuolo Torino Udinese Venezia Augsburg Bayer Leverkusen Bayern München Borussia Dortmund Borussia M'gladbach Eintracht Frankfurt Elversberg Freiburg Hamburger SV Hoffenheim Köln Mainz 05 Paderborn RB Leipzig Schalke 04 Stuttgart Union Berlin Werder Bremen Angers SCO Auxerre Brest Le Havre Le Mans Lens Lille Lorient Monaco Nice Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Marseille Paris FC Paris Saint-Germain Rennes Strasbourg Toulouse Troyes ADO Den Haag Ajax AZ Cambuur Excelsior Feyenoord Fortuna Sittard Go Ahead Eagles Groningen Heerenveen NEC PEC Zwolle PSV Sparta Rotterdam Telstar Twente Utrecht Willem II

Chapter one · read the club

Lens,read in full.

Yannick Cahuzac's side line up in a and sit in the table.

Chapter two · find the gap

The gaps are at and .

Biggest need · defensive midfield · too few players, below its rivals
Counted by where they start, its options add up to only players, veterans aside, where a squad carries . The best of them, Andrija Bulatović, is worth ; at the clubs closest to Lens in strength the best option there is typically worth .
Second need · full-back · too few players, below its rivals
Counted by where they start, its options add up to only players, veterans aside, where a squad carries . The best of them, Matthieu Udol, is worth ; at the clubs closest to Lens in strength the best option there is typically worth .

Every position is compared with the six squads in its league closest in strength: depth, the best option's value, ageing. Players count where they actually start, not where they are listed.

Chapter three · scout the fix

Three ways to fix it.

Biggest need: defensive midfield

Dream targets · whatever the cost

Nicolai Remberg
Club
Hamburger SV
Age
Contract
months left
Price
(likely –)
Plays defensive midfield · right-footed · cm
Why him
A regular: minutes for Hamburger SV in the past year's matches on record. He would compete with Andrija Bulatović () for a starting place. The most valuable regular starter we found at defensive midfield. We expect him to play of Lens's minutes. Market value .
Gorby
Club
SC Braga
Age
Contract
months left
Price
(likely –)
Plays central midfield, defensive midfield · right-footed · cm
Why him
A regular: minutes for SC Braga in the past year's matches on record. He would compete with Andrija Bulatović () for a starting place. The second most valuable regular starter we found at defensive midfield. We expect him to play of Lens's minutes. Market value .
Senne Lynen
Club
SV Werder Bremen
Age
Price
(likely –)
Plays defensive midfield · right-footed · cm · caps
Why him
A regular: minutes for SV Werder Bremen in the past year's matches on record, and international caps. He would compete with Andrija Bulatović () for a starting place. The third most valuable regular starter we found at defensive midfield. We expect him to play of Lens's minutes. Market value .

Realistic targets · gettable

Anthony Dennis
Club
Göztepe
Age
Contract
months left
Price
(likely –)
Plays defensive midfield · right-footed · cm
Why him
A regular: minutes for Göztepe in the past year's matches on record. He would compete with Andrija Bulatović () for a starting place. A move that can happen: Göztepe sell players like him more often than most ( chance in a window), and players tend to move up to richer clubs like Lens. The likeliest move of those we checked ( in a window; any one move is a long shot). Only months are left on his contract, which brings the price down.
Alonzo Engwanda
Club
FC Utrecht
Age
Contract
months left
Price
(likely –)
Plays defensive midfield · right-footed · cm · caps
Why him
A regular: minutes for FC Utrecht in the past year's matches on record, and international caps. He would compete with Andrija Bulatović () for a starting place. A move that can happen: FC Utrecht sell players like him more often than most ( chance in a window), and players tend to move up to richer clubs like Lens. The second likeliest move of those we checked ( in a window; any one move is a long shot).
Kamiel Van De Perre
Club
Union Saint-Gilloise
Age
Contract
months left
Price
(likely –)
Plays defensive midfield · right-footed · cm · caps
Why him
A regular: minutes for Union Saint-Gilloise in the past year's matches on record, and international caps. He would compete with Andrija Bulatović () for a starting place. A move that can happen: Union Saint-Gilloise sell players like him more often than most ( chance in a window), and players tend to move up to richer clubs like Lens. The third likeliest move of those we checked ( in a window; any one move is a long shot).

Hidden gems · young, rising

Luca Lipani
Club
US Sassuolo
Age
Price
(likely –)
Plays central midfield, defensive midfield · right-footed · cm · caps
Why him
He would compete with Andrija Bulatović () for a starting place. Aged and already a regular ( of US Sassuolo's minutes), projected to be worth in a few seasons.
Alpha Touré
Club
FC Metz
Age
Price
(likely –)
Plays central midfield, defensive midfield · left-footed · cm · caps
Why him
He would compete with Andrija Bulatović () for a starting place. Aged and already a regular ( of FC Metz's minutes), projected to be worth in a few seasons.
Emirhan İlkhan
Club
Torino FC
Age
Price
(likely –)
Plays defensive midfield · right-footed · cm · caps
Why him
He would compete with Andrija Bulatović () for a starting place. Aged and already a regular ( of Torino FC's minutes), projected to be worth in a few seasons.

Second need: full-back

Dream targets · whatever the cost

Sergi Cardona
Club
Villarreal CF
Age
Contract
months left
Price
(likely –)
Plays left-back · two-footed · cm
Why him
A creative full-back: in the top of full-backs in Europe's biggest leagues for chances created and the top for interceptions ( league season). The most valuable regular starter we found at full-back. We expect him to play of Lens's minutes. Only months are left on his contract, which brings the price down. Market value .
Lorenz Assignon
Club
VfB Stuttgart
Age
Contract
months left
Price
(likely –)
Plays right midfield, right-back · right-footed · cm
Why him
A regular: minutes for VfB Stuttgart in the past year's matches on record. The second most valuable regular starter we found at full-back. We expect him to play of Lens's minutes. Market value .
Francisco Moura
Club
FC Porto
Age
Contract
months left
Price
(likely –)
Plays left-back · left-footed · cm · caps
Why him
From full-back he sets up league goals per full match, more goal involvement than of players at his position in Liga Portugal. The third most valuable regular starter we found at full-back. We expect him to play of Lens's minutes. Market value .

Realistic targets · gettable

Lilian Raolisoa
Club
Angers SCO
Age
Contract
months left
Price
(likely –)
Plays right midfield, right-back · right-footed · cm
Why him
From full-back he sets up league goals per full match, more goal involvement than of players at his position in Ligue 1. A move that can happen: Angers SCO sell players like him more often than most ( chance in a window), and players tend to move up to richer clubs like Lens. The likeliest move of those we checked ( in a window; any one move is a long shot).
Koffi Kouao
Club
FC Metz
Age
Price
(likely –)
Plays right-back · right-footed · cm · caps
Why him
From full-back he sets up league goals per full match, more goal involvement than of players at his position in Ligue 1. A move that can happen: FC Metz sell players like him more often than most ( chance in a window), and players tend to move up to richer clubs like Lens. The second likeliest move of those we checked ( in a window; any one move is a long shot).
Kelvin Amian
Club
FC Nantes
Age
Contract
months left
Price
(likely –)
Plays right-back · right-footed · cm · caps
Why him
From full-back he sets up league goals per full match; for goals and assists he is behind most players at his position in Ligue 1 (ahead of ). A move that can happen: FC Nantes sell players like him more often than most ( chance in a window), and players tend to move up to richer clubs like Lens. The third likeliest move of those we checked ( in a window; any one move is a long shot).

Hidden gems · young, rising

Nico O'Reilly
Club
Manchester City
Age
Price
(likely –)
Plays left-back · left-footed · cm · caps · injury risk
Why him
From full-back he sets up league goals per full match, more goal involvement than of players at his position in Premier League. Aged and already a regular ( of Manchester City's minutes), projected to be worth in a few seasons.
Warren Zaïre-Emery
Club
Paris Saint-Germain
Age
Price
(likely –)
Plays central midfield, right-back · right-footed · cm · caps
Why him
From full-back he sets up league goals per full match, more goal involvement than of players at his position in Ligue 1. Aged and already a regular ( of Paris Saint-Germain's minutes), projected to be worth in a few seasons.
Myles Lewis-Skelly
Club
Arsenal FC
Age
Price
(likely –)
Plays left-back · left-footed · cm · caps · injury risk
Why him
Aged and already a regular ( of Arsenal FC's minutes), projected to be worth in a few seasons.

Price is our fair fee for Lens today; the likely range is where most fees for players like him have landed. Wages are not shown: no free source publishes them.

Injury risk is rated for players in Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1; Eredivisie has too little injury data to rate; other leagues have none.

Chapter four · check every number

Every number has a receipt.

league position · Lens
league points · Lens
league goals scored · Lens
league goals conceded · Lens
recent league results, oldest first · Lens
appointed head coach of Lens · Yannick Cahuzac

Verified ×2Every figure re-checked against its source · news needs an official source or two independent ones · hover any number

Chapter five · predict Saturday

Lens v Paris FC

Lens win

Draw

Paris FC win

Forecast from team ratings and chance quality, tested on two full seasons: better than a classic rating system, not yet as sharp as the bookmakers.

Chapter six · fork it

Open source. Free. Yours.

Free and open source, built only on free data and open AI. Point it at your club and check every number yourself.

github.com/delta96040/dugout Read the full dossier