Five Ligue 1 players Premier League clubs should be looking to sign

Over the years, Ligue 1 has hosted some of Europe’s most talented players, with the Premier League often scouting for talent across the English channel.

While the bigger signings from France have often underwhelmed, a number of gems who weren’t quite household names successfully made the move over, including the likes of N’Golo Kante, Patrice Evra and Petr Cech.

Below, we look at five Ligue 1 players Premier League clubs should be looking at ahead of the summer transfer window.

Rayan Cherki

Club: Lyon
Position: Right-winger, attacking midfielder
Age: 21
Potential fee: £20m

A maverick, a throwback, whatever you want to call him, Rayan Cherki’s playing style seems wholly at odds with the hyper-tactical game of 2025.

But under a manager who’s comfortable giving Cherki that bit of creative freedom, Cherki could really flourish.

Cherki himself said that football is less watched because it’s more robotic, and his propensity to ignore any and all defensive aspects of the game will mean plenty of clubs immediately put a strike through his name.

But for anyone happy to carry a player who may be a liability defensively in the hope they can provide that spark in attack, Cherki may be worth the gamble.

If he is signed by a Premier League club, it would likely be one looking for a right-winger, but Cherki is so two-footed he can play on either flank and is creative enough to be deployed behind a striker.

Cherki has eight goals and 10 assists in Ligue 1 this season and impressed in the Europa League – scoring what should have been the winning goal at Old Trafford in Lyon’s dramatic defeat.

In Europe’s big five leagues, Cherki ranks 12th for key passes, 10th for passes into the penalty area and sixth for expected goals assisted.

While Cherki is primarily a creator, he’s also a superb dribbler and ranks 10th for carries into the final third across the big five leagues.

Lyon have huge financial problems and will likely be forced to sell players in the summer, and Cherki could be available at a cut price.

Lamine Camara

Club: Monaco
Position: Central midfielder
Age: 21
Potential fee: £30m

It might not be this summer, but Lamine Camara looks all set for a move to a much bigger stage in the not-too-distant future.

Camara made the move from Metz to Monaco last summer for €15m and while he’s still somewhat lacking in top-flight experience, now may be the time to strike.

Still only 21, Camara is showing signs that he could develop into a complete midfielder. Primarily deployed in a deeper role where he can dictate play, Camara has the pace and energy to play as a #6 or an #8.

An excellent ball winner, Camara has also proven to be a talented creator. The 21-year-old ranks 11th in Ligue 1 for assists, 18th for key passes, 18th for goal-creating actions, 21st for passes into the final third and 24th for progressive passes, complementing his creative numbers by rankings 26th for tackles won and 25th for combined tackles and interceptions.

The biggest concern, certainly for Premier League clubs, would be Camara’s stature. Slightly built and standing at 5ft 8in it remains to be seen whether the Senegal international could cope with the physical demands of English football.

Monaco’s qualification to the UEFA Champions League league phase means they’re unlikely to be forced to sell Camara, but that situation may well change in 12 months’ time.

Emanuele Emegha

Club: Strasbourg
Position: Centre forward
Age: 21
Potential fee: £30m

Enjoying a breakthrough season in Ligue 1, Emanuele Emegha has 17 goals to his name this term, placing him sixth in the division’s top goalscorers.

Emegha loves playing on the shoulder of the last man and while that can often result in him being caught offside, it also sees him taking up prime goalscoring positions, going somewhat to explaining his remarkable 0.28 non-penalty expected goals per shot – the best in Europe’s big five leagues (minimum 20 shots).

Standing at 6ft 5in, Emegha has the potential to pose a significant aerial threat, though his slender frame might require some bulking out to live with Premier League defenders.

The fact Emegha is contracted to Strasbourg, who are controlled by Chelsea owners BlueCo, likely makes a deal with a Premier League club more difficult, but it may suit Chelsea nicely…

Jonathan David

Club: Lille
Position: Centre forward
Age: 25
Potential fee: Free

The cat is finally out of the bag, and we can now confirm that Jonathan David will be leaving Lille on a free transfer in the summer and somebody will bag themselves a bargain.

Of course, it won’t be a ‘free’ transfer as such; David will net himself a hefty signing on fee and salary in lieu of a transfer fee,  and in return he should provide plenty of goals.

The downside with David is that this season he ranks 16th in Ligue 1 for non-penalty xG (npxG) per 90 and 33rd for shots per 90 (minimum 10.0 90s played). In the UEFA Champions League, which the bigger clubs will be observing, David is 32nd in for npxG/90 and 62nd for shots per 90 (minimum 5.0 90s played).

These numbers would be alarming for a top club looking to sign a reliable goalscorer, but what David does have in his arsenal is top-quality finishing.

Throughout his career, David has out-performed his xG and is a proficient penalty taker, leading to tallies of 13, 15, 24, 19 and 16 across his five Ligue 1 seasons.

Inter and Napoli are thought to be targeting the Canadian, but a lot of Premier League clubs will have David on their radar.

Soungoutou Magassa

Club: Monaco
Position: Defensive midfielder
Age: 21
Potential fee: £20m

While Monaco’s business model dictates that the club typically need to sell more than they buy, their UEFA Champions League qualification will help keep the wolves at bay for another year. Should they fail to qualify for the UEFA Champions League in 12 months’ time, they may have their hand forced.

By then, a number of their younger players may have significantly increased their value and Soungoutou Magassa is one.

While Adi Hutter has largely preferred Lamine Camara and Denis Zakaria as his double pivot, Camara may leave in the summer with Magassa promoted.

Magassa has made 20 Ligue 1 appearances this season and 11 starts, but boasts some impressive defensive numbers. Amongst midfielders across Europe’s big five leagues, Magassa ranks ninth for tackles won per 90, first for combined tackles and interceptions per 90 and sixth for interceptions per 90 (minimum 10.0 90s played).

At 6ft 2in, the 21-year-old is an imposing presence in midfield and has all the attributes to become an elite ball-winner.

The downside is that he’s shown very little in possession so far, but if anybody is looking for a midfield destroyer with heaps of potential, Magassa could be the man.