Montpellier are no longer a selling club – and they are all the richer for it | Adam White and Eric Devin | Football

To say that Montpellier have had an uneven start to the season would be putting it mildly after the club lost several key players in the summer. Benjamin Lecomte was one of the division’s most underrated goalkeepers last season, and he was joined in making the trip east along the Mediterranean by right-back Rubén Aguilar, a player who may not be as hotly tipped as others, but has comfortably been in any conversation about the league’s best right-backs in recent years.

Ellyes Skhiri and Paul Lasne also made their exits but despite being a ‘selling club’ – like many of their Ligue 1 rivals – La Paillade hardly lack ambition. While the absence of Lecomte was a big blow, Geronimo Rulli, the vastly experienced Argentine, has joined on loan from Real Sociedad, and Aguilar, has been deftly replaced by Arnaud Souquet. Souquet is, like Aguilar, a hidden gem, qualified by the fact that his form for Nice in the second half of 2016-17 was so good that Lucien Favre played Ricardo Pereira, currently excelling with Leicester, out of position so as to accommodate the two in the same starting XI.

The club also moved to make Andy Delort’s loan move from Toulouse permanent and brought in Lyon’s walking yellow card, Jordan Ferri, to add some aggression to their midfield. These acquisitions, of course, served only as appetisers to the team’s main course, the coup de grace that was the transfer of Téji Savanier from Nîmes. The central midfielder had been comfortably Les Crocos’ best player last season, and many would have had him as Ligue 1’s best midfielder, full stop. As the two are bitter local rivals, it was a move that took some doing, but also spoke volumes about the club’s ambitions.

While most French clubs are content to scour the second division and rely on their international scouting networks while polishing promising youngsters, the players that Montpellier have brought in this season are, by and large, of a certain vintage. Each of Souquet, Rulli, Savanier, Ferri, and Delort are were 27 at the time of signing, and this, coupled with the team’s ageing but solid back three meant that rather than look at these players as assets to be moved on, the club was aiming to move up the table in a summer when there was no clear-cut challenger to PSG’s hegemony. Not that Montpellier had designs of winning the league, their 2012 title notwithstanding, but with Lille and Lyon unloading key players, Marseille seemingly hamstrung financially and Monaco in chaos, there appeared to be a rare opportunity to double down on a relatively successful squad and look to move up the table.

As they say, however, the best-laid plans. In pre-season, Savanier suffered a bad knee injury, and missed the season’s first two months. His absence, along with that of Ferri, who has only played seven matches owing to a combination of his own injury and a three-match ban, meant that, rather than the fluid, dynamic midfield which could provide good support to a potent front three of Delort, Florent Mollet and Gaetan Laborde, the team were often forced to rely on the more prosaic Damien Le Tallec and the teenager Joris Chotard. Chotard, to his credit, has performed admirably, but it is a stark contrast between an unproven young player and as classy a performer as Savanier.

The former Nîmes man made his return in late October, and Montpellier have impressed in the time since. There has been the odd poor performance, but each of their two losses with him in the XI have come with heavy caveats, having gone down a man against PSG and having been pegged back by a penalty against Lille. They still only sit ninth in the table, but their goal difference and increased attacking prowess (only PSG have outscored them in the nine matches since Savanier returned), coupled with a very tight table, mean that anything is possible, especially with no side save Marseille yet to evince much in the way of consistency.

There are still, of course, doubts about their viability; depth in defence is a major concern. Youngster Nicolas Cozza’s versatility has often allowed Michel der Zakarian to paper over the cracks, but he is out for the season having done his knee, and while Le Tallec can do a job there, the rapport among Hilton, Congré and Pedro Mendes is at the heart of the team’s impressive defensive record. Depth in attack is also a concern, as Delort (six goals) and Laborde (four) both work incredibly hard pressing from the front, a capacity that is definitively lacking in their deputies, Souleymane Camara and Petar Skuletic. All told, though, Montpellier’s best XI are slowly but surely proving they are a match for any side in France, demonstrating that, for once, not being a selling club may yet have its merits.

Talking Points

• Marseille now boast the league’s longest unbeaten run this season, with seven wins and a draw in their last eight. Dario Benedetto scored on his return to the starting lineup, and Dimitri Payet is in some of the best form of his career. A recent injury to Steve Mandanda is a point of frustration to be sure, but with Florian Thauvin set to come back after the winter break, Marseille’s quest to return to the Champions League looks increasingly assured with each week; André Villas-Boas’s side now sit seven points clear of fourth and have the third-best attack in the division, both signs that augur well for continued success.

• While Marseille have had little else to focus on, Rennes have had a challenging first half to the season, battling against Lazio and Celtic in a hugely difficult Europa League group. The Breton side were eliminated, but showed some decent fight in spells, and now, not having been forced to rotate, they have reeled off five straight wins, and sit third following Lille’s loss to Monaco. Rennes had started the season in similarly good form, only to be derailed once their European obligations started, perhaps evidence that this upturn in form can be sustained.

• Finally, it looks like Claude Puel’s magic may befading more quickly than the club’s hierarchy would have liked. The club’s loss to Strasbourg, who had been below them in the table at kick-off on Saturday, was their third straight. No team has conceded as many goals in that span, and only three have scored fewer. The vital nature of Denis Bouanga’s flashes of brilliance that have sometimes carried Sainté was made all the more obvious after he missed last weekend’s action with injury. Bereft of any consistency in attack, it could be a long second half of the season forLes Verts.

Ligue 1 table

• This is an article from Get French Football News
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