Leeds United reportedly like Lois Openda but former France international Basile Boli clams to have ‘heard’ that Premier League challengers Arsenal are also big fans of the Ligue 1 hotshot.
Is there a club anywhere in European football who can hold a candle to RC Lens in the recruitment stakes?
Currently second in Ligue 1 – six points behind Paris Saint-Germain – a Lens side who only escaped the second-tier in 2020 have constructed a Champions League-quality squad on merely a fraction of the budget many of their domestic rivals enjoy.
And Openda, an £8 million signing from Club Brugge, has come to epitomise their remarkable success in the transfer market. Less than 12 months after arriving, the former Vitesse Arnhem loanee is attracting admiring glances from some of the biggest and most deep-pocketed clubs in European football.
According to 90Min, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal all scouted Openda recently. Leeds United too, per FootMercato, though a rumoured £35 million price-tag could prove to be beyond the Yorkshire giants.
Will Lois Openda end up at Arsenal?
“His price will be between 30 and 40 million euros,” Boli, a Champions League winner with Marseille in 1993, tells La Derniere Heure.
“It will be difficult for RC Lens to keep him. His agent is behind the scenes working on a transfer, and I have heard that Arsenal are following him closely.”
23-year-old Openda impressed during his time in the Eredivisie. He has taken his game to an all-new level in France, however, scoring 19 goals in just 25 Ligue 1 starts. There was also a five-minute hat-trick against Clermont; the fastest treble in the French top flight since 1967.
Manchester United need a reliable centre-forward and Openda should prove to be far more affordable than the likes of Harry Kane, Victor Osimhen, Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani, all of whom are valued in the region of £100 million.
There is more to the Belgian’s game, meanwhile, than simply sticking the ball in the net.
“He didn’t score but today he was excellent!” Lens coach Franck Haise said following a recent clash with Strasbourg. “He tired out the defenders, he won us free-kicks, he ran into space, he battled.
“He (gives us) a new dimension these days, whether he scores or not. If he plays like that, it’s brilliant for the team!”
“Lois is mentally very strong. But what counts is putting in the hard work, keeping your feet on the ground. You have to be humble as a player so that even when you reach your objectives, you set new ones!
“Whatever happens you need to believe in yourself and in your work and he does that very well!”
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