Lille OSC

Halftime is typically devoid of any on-field action, but that wasn't the case during Lens and Lille's Ligue 1 fixture Saturday.

A group of Lens supporters ran onto the pitch to confront the Lille away section after the first half concluded.

More carnage from Ligue 1 as the derby between Lens vs Lille is suspended with the two sets of fans having a punch-up on the pitch.pic.twitter.com/ULxYjiaYDW

— Sam Street (@samstreetwrites) September 18, 2021

Lens fans stormed the pitch to confront Lille fans at halftime of their Ligue 1 match.

The game resumed after they were separated by police 😳 pic.twitter.com/zsO4iSZ2gV

— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 18, 2021

The second half kicked off after a short delay once the situation calmed down.

French soccer writer Robin Bairner provided some insight into what may have sparked the confrontation:

The prelude to the pitch invasion by Lens fans...

Lille supporters appear to be throwing seats at the home fans. https://t.co/oiWD7pjvBS

— Robin Bairner (@RBairner) September 18, 2021

This is the second major fan-related incident in France this season. 

OGC Nice supporters threw a bottle at Marseille star Dimitri Payet during a match in August. Payet threw the bottle back into the crowd, which led to a group of fans storming the pitch to confront the Marseille players.

💥 THIS IS MADNESS! 🤯 THE FANS INVADED THE PITCH! 😰

Nice fans ran on to the pitch during the OGC Nice-Marseille match.#OGCNOM pic.twitter.com/BKGxprGN53

— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) August 22, 2021

The match was abandoned in the 75th minute, and French football's governing body (LFP) ordered the two clubs to replay the fixture at a neutral location behind closed doors.

Due to their close proximity, meetings between Lens and Lille can be testy affairs. The Derby du Nord is among the regional rivalries in French soccer.

The derby had been idle for a few years prior to Lens' promotion ahead of the 2020-21 season. More than five years had passed since they faced off in October 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic meant their respective stadiums were empty for the two league clashes.

Lille midfielder Renato Sanches has opened up about his time at Bayern Munich and the failed transfer to Paris Saint-Germain. He said Bayern coach Niko Kovac urged him to stay, only to not give him adequate playing time.

Sanches sat down for an interview with L'Equipe (h/t AS) and said his move to Bayern didn't come too soon. According to him, none of his team-mates understood why he didn't get more chances:

"I was having dinner at a restaurant and my agent called to tell me: 'Tomorrow, you'll be flying out to Paris.' I told him that was fine with me and went home to pack my suitcases.

"The following day I showed up at training and Niko Kovac turned to me and said: 'Don't go!' I stayed and didn't play for the team that week. In the next game, I played five minutes.

"I saw how I'd lost my place with the national team and some of my skills were not as sharp. Even my own team-mates were asking me why I wasn't playing because I was one of the best in training. Even [Niklas] Sule mentioned it in an interview. And the same thing happened last summer."

He also said injuries and a lack of motivation ruined his chances at Swansea City, and he joined Lille to get back in the Portugal team for the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament.

The 22-year-old is back on track in northern France this season, flashing the talent that made him one of the hottest prospects in European football following the Euro 2016 tournament.

French football writer Jeremy Smith hopes his strong form doesn't come back to haunt Les Bleus (warning: strong language):

Remember when Eder was shit, Lille took a punt, nursed him back to form and then he beat France?

I'm worried about Renato Sanches' good form...

— Jeremy Smith (@jeremysmith98) February 16, 2020

A product of the Benfica academy, Sanches made his professional debut in the 2014-15 campaign and stepped up to the Eagles' senior side in 2015. He played in six UEFA Champions League matches and wowed scouts with his tremendous combination of strength, athleticism and technical ability.

He joined Portugal for Euro 2016 and played a big part in the round-of-16 triumph over Croatia, winning the man-of-the-match award. He then scored in the quarter-finals against Poland, again winning the man-of-the-match award, and he won the Young Player of the Tournament Award following Portugal's victory in the final against France.

Sanches moved to Bundesliga giants Bayern in 2016, but his career never took off in Germany. He made six league starts in his debut season and was sent on loan to Swansea the following year.

The tricky midfielder showed flashes the following season, but it wasn't enough to keep him at the Allianz Arena. Now starring for Lille, he's once again putting in performances like this one against Montpellier in December:

Lille's squad is filled with high-upside talents like Timothy Weah, Victor Osimhen and Thiago Maia, and they're in the thick of the Champions League race in Ligue 1. Consistency and scoring have been issues―they have just 30 goals in 25 Ligue 1 matches―but the future looks bright for the French side.

Renato Sanches' largely disappointing spell with Bayern Munich came to an end on Friday, when the Portugal international midfielder left the Bundesliga to join Lille. 

Last season's Ligue 1 runners-up confirmed the signing on Twitter:

🔴LOSC are thrilled to announce the signing of Portugal international midfielder Renato Sanches from Bayern Munich on a five-year deal ! pic.twitter.com/QQOVoz19Rl

— LOSC (@LOSC_EN) August 23, 2019

Welcome, @renatosanches35 😁👏 pic.twitter.com/clzSPOV0Cr

— LOSC (@LOSC_EN) August 23, 2019

The deal had been expected, with RMC Sport (h/t The Sun's Jake Lambourne) reporting earlier in the day the player was in France for a medical ahead of completing a move worth £22.6 million.

Sanches rose to prominence as a youngster at Benfica, but his form dipped soon after he joined Bayern in 2016 for an initial fee of €35 million.

Although he won the UEFA European Championship with his country that same year, Sanches never delivered on his potential in Germany. He made just 53 appearances for Die Roten, scoring a mere two goals in the process.

Even though his time at the Allianz Arena the club took in a pair of Bundesliga titles and winning last season's DFB-Pokal, Sanches was a mere passenger for those triumphs:

ℹ️ Renato Sanches will leave #FCBayern to join OSC Lille.

Thanks for everything, @renatosanches35! pic.twitter.com/vPqy51So2r

— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) August 23, 2019

A video posted on social media of the midfielder counting cash prompted an apology on Facebook and proved a low moment in Sanches' early attempts to make the grade in Munich. Being sent on loan to then-Premier League club Swansea City in 2017 failed to get Sanches back on track.

Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told the club's official website why Sanches has made the move now: "Renato Sanches asked us to agree to the transfer because he wanted to join a club where he can play on a regular basis. Unfortunately, we were unable to guarantee that at FC Bayern. Match practice is also important to him because he wants a place in the Portugal squad for Euro 2020."

It's a potentially excellent move for Lille and Sanches. Still just 22, there is no doubt the makings of a top-quality player are present in a powerhouse who can move the ball at pace and also has the technique to unlock defences.

Joining a well-run Lille club could be the best thing for Sanches' suddenly flagging career, according to Rich Allen of Get French Football News:

Renato Sanches to Lille. If anyone can get his career back on track it's Luis Campos and Christophe Galtier. https://t.co/V52dOR8PSV

— Rich Allen 🔴⚫ (@rich_allen85) August 23, 2019

Sanches will enter a midfield already reinforced by the acquisition of Turkish playmaker Yusuf Yazici. Brazilian Thiago Maia is also still around the anchor the middle.

If Sanches can utilise his natural engine and vision, he could become a useful source of supply for a forward line headlined by Victor Osimhen, who has two goals to start the new season.

While Bayern have produced some excellent business to cash in on Sanches, his departure still underlines the need for reinforcements at the heart of midfield. Die Roten remain keen on Espanyol's Marc Roca, amid conflicting reports about how far said interest has progressed:

Bayern Munich have reached an agreement with Marc Roca, according to L’Equipe. While Bild report that Espanyol could be willing to sell for €30m. #FCBayern #RCDEspanyol

— Ronan Murphy (@swearimnotpaul) August 23, 2019

The loan deals for Barcelona's Philippe Coutinho and Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic have ensured Niko Kovac's team won't lack for creativity. Yet Bayern need to refresh the holding role and provide another option besides Javi Martinez.

Four clubs have made bids for Lille forward Nicolas Pepe that "satisfy" the French outfit, according to president Gerard Lopez. 

Lopez told Tuttosport that among the interested parties, Napoli have met Lille's €80 million (£72 million) valuation for the 24-year-old (h/t Goal's Chris Burton):

"Last year we asked Pepe to stay with the promise that we would sell in this transfer window.

"We received offers that satisfy us economically from four big clubs. [Napoli chairman Aurelio] De Laurentiis has satisfied our request for €80 million. Now it is up to the player to decide where he wants to go.

"He must make that decision based on the offers that his agents have received from the four clubs.

"On Monday, Pepe will return from vacation, and I believe that by the middle of the week he will have made a decision."

According to L'Equipe (h/t Get French Football News), Liverpool, Arsenal and Inter Milan are the other clubs that have have bids accepted for Pepe. Manchester United have also been linked:

Lille's Nicolas Pepe has been talking with Napoli - but LOSC have also agreed terms with Man Utd and Inter over a transfer fee, according to Voix du Nord. Wherever he goes, fee expected to be around €80m. #MUFC

— Robin Bairner (@RBairner) July 25, 2019

The quality of clubs interested in Pepe is an indication of his immense talent.

The Ivory Coast international scored 22 goals and provided 11 assists in Ligue 1 last season, a combined contribution bettered only by Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe.

Pepe favours the right flank, but he can also play in the centre-forward role, and his phenomenal pace makes him a huge threat going forward.

Of the clubs that have been linked with Pepe, Arsenal and United may be at a disadvantage in the transfer battle because they cannot offer UEFA Champions League football next season.

Liverpool's interest is understandable given they are overly reliant on Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah in attack.

Pepe would be a brilliant addition to Jurgen Klopp's squad and could help the Reds to win the Premier League next season.

But the Ivorian may have concerns about  being a back-up player at Anfield rather than a guaranteed starter.

Lille president Gerard Lopez has said the transfer of star winger Nicolas Pepe "is almost done" amid reports Liverpool and Manchester United remain interested in the player. 

Ivory Coast international Pepe enjoyed a breakout campaign at Stade Pierre-Mauroy last season and has been linked with numerous European giants. Lopez spoke to La Voix du Nord (h/t Get French Football News) and said:

“Our work is done. In terms of departures and arrivals: If a player leaves, we will go and get what we need. For Nico, it is almost done, and he could have left last summer. It is true that there are big offers and big clubs in for him, so I think [he will leave]. Aside from that, you never know in football.”

The Mirror's Jake Polden recently wrote Liverpool, United and Arsenal were interested in the player, although his £70 million valuation has prevented a deal thus far.

Pepe, 24, began his summer holidays late after completing his duties at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, so it's to be expected that his transfer situation heats up from this point.

French football writer Jeremy Smith questioned Lopez's comments:

Lille boss Gerard Lopez has repeated today that "there are big offers and very big clubs" after Nicolas Pepe. But didn't name any of them.

Still find the reporting strangely vague, as if fewer clubs than expected have come through and it's Lille trying to manufacture interest.

— Jeremy Smith (@jeremysmith98) July 22, 2019

Liverpool are able to offer UEFA Champions League football in the upcoming season, whereas United failed to qualify for the competition and will return to the UEFA Europa League.

That's sure to have a significant impact on the calibre of player who will be tempted to join the Red Devils, while Liverpool's lure was also enhanced by their Champions League triumph in June.

In total, Pepe scored 23 goals and recorded 12 assists last season, almost doubling his previous best goal tally (14) and showcasing how his talent has developed in a short space of time, via BT Sport: 

Pepe has played almost exclusively off the right flank since he joined Lille from Angers in 2017. WhoScored.com recently illustrated how he's refined his scoring touch:

Nicolas Pepe: Only Kylian Mbappe (25) scored more clear-cut goalscoring opportunities than Pepe (17) in Ligue 1 last season

For more player stats -- https://t.co/eyJ610YOEt pic.twitter.com/Vf01dzgUOq

— WhoScored (@WhoScored) July 21, 2019

His return of 23 goals in Ligue 1 last season was second only to Paris Saint-Germain ace Kylian Mbappe in France's top flight (33).

Pepe's future looks set to be resolved in the days to come, with a little more than a fortnight remaining until England's summer transfer window closes on August 8.

What if the hottest property in modern football wasn't Kylian Mbappe or Matthijs de Ligt, but a balding, bespectacled 54-year-old who hasn't laced up his boots in over 30 years?

As the man who helped to launch the careers of players such as Fabinho, Bernardo Silva, Thomas Lemar, Anthony Martial and Nicolas Pepe, Luis Campos has established a reputation as one of the game's leading talent-spotters.

The list of clubs rumoured to have shown an interest in the Lille sporting director's services reads like a Who's Who of the European elite, with Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Roma, Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille all reported to have sounded him out about the possibility of becoming their sporting director in recent years.

"It's not a coincidence that his name has been linked with Chelsea or Milan or the other top clubs in the world," says Aitor Karanka, who became friends with Campos while working alongside him at Real Madrid.

"When you look at the players who he signed at Monaco and Lille, the difference between the price they had and the price they have now is amazing. He's one of the best."

Even before he had laid the foundations for Monaco's sensational Ligue 1 title win in 2017, Campos was a source of fascination in France, with headlines variously describing him as "the invisible man" or "the mysterious Mister Campos."

Having followed up his successes at Monaco by helping to propel Lille into the Champions League, Campos now enjoys a much bigger profile, but despite the occasional television appearance, an air of mystery remains. So who is the man with the Midas touch in the transfer market? And what are the secrets of his phenomenal hit rate?

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Before he became one of football's leading transfer masterminds, Luis Campos was a manager. And not a very successful one.

Born in Fao, a small coastal town of 3,000 people in northern Portugal, Campos played football throughout his youth before going on to study physical education at the University of Porto—a course that took him down the same path as his compatriots Jose Mourinho and Carlos Queiroz, who attended the University of Lisbon.

While pursuing his studies, he turned out for local club AS Esposende and tried his hand at youth coaching. After graduating, he hung up his boots and joined SC Espinho—then playing in Portugal's top tier—as a fitness coach. From Espinho, he went to Uniao de Leiria, initially working as an assistant coach and then, at the age of just 27, becoming manager.

Over the 13 years that followed, he would take charge of a succession of modest Portuguese clubs. His teams were renowned for the good quality of their football, and he occasionally made the headlines, such as when his Gil Vicente side ended Mourinho's unbeaten 27-game start to the season with Porto in April 2004.

But the thing Campos was most famous for was getting teams relegated. In the 2002-03 campaign, he contributed to the demotions of two clubs—Vitoria de Setubal and Varzim—and in 2004-05 he repeated the trick with Beira-Mar. It earned him the nickname "Luis Campas"—campa being a Portuguese word for "grave."

Nevertheless, the players who played for him recall a manager who fizzed with energy and ideas and who always went out of his way to make them feel supported.

"He was very straightforward, he was hard-working, he was passionate about football and he had that human side that helps to get the best out of players," says Ali El Omari, who played under Campos at Gil Vicente and Beira-Mar. "He's left a good impression with most of the players he's worked with."

After leaving Beira-Mar in 2005, Campos turned his back on the dugout. He started teaching and invested in a beachside restaurant in Esposende, but thoughts of football were never far away.

Along with another former coach, Americo Magalhaes, he set up Training to Play (T2P), a company that provided equipment, training DVDs and tactical software for football clubs. One of their innovations, an application called the Mourinho Tactical Board, was custom-made for the man it was named after. United by mutual admiration, Campos and Mourinho had become close allies.

Campos also earned the trust of super-agent Jorge Mendes, and the scouting work he undertook for Porto further enhanced his reputation as one of the sharpest minds in the Portuguese game.

After seven years without an official position in football, Campos made a triumphant return in July 2012 when Mourinho invited him to join his backroom staff at Real Madrid. It was the ultimate riposte to his detractors.

"It was not by chance, because I have blue eyes or because I'm beautiful," Campos told Portuguese newspaper O Jogo in 2016. "I was invited because Jose Mourinho understood that I had the competence to work with him."

---

Anyone walking past Campos' office on the ground floor of Madrid's Valdebebas training centre could have been forgiven for thinking it looked more like it belonged to a Silicon Valley tech guru than one of the world's leading football scouts.

There were no piles of notepads, no bulging files, no overflowing drawers. Instead, all of Campos' data was meticulously collated on his laptop and iPad. He kept his office clean and tidy. There were photos of his wife and two daughters, as well as a picture of Campos astride a mountain bike in a nod to one of his hobbies.

One of Campos' recommendations arrived at Madrid shortly after he did. Brazilian right-back Fabinho, a loanee from Portuguese side Rio Ave, would make only one first-team appearance at the club, but after being reunited with Campos at Monaco a year later, he developed into a €50 million central midfielder.

"He's the kind of player now, when you see him playing at that level [with Liverpool], you realise how good Luis is," Karanka told Bleacher Report.

Campos' colleagues at Madrid were disarmed by his enthusiasm, his diligence and his energy. He used his time at the club to develop a new piece of scouting software, Scouting System Pro, and was never afraid to offer an opinion.

"Luis works in a lot of detail. He's very persistent and always looks for as much information as he can find," recalls Jose Morais, who was one of Mourinho's assistants at Madrid. "He's a guy with ideas who's dynamic enough to make things happen. He's a kind of entrepreneur."

Campos, who speaks several languages, was employed to help Madrid identify promising players, and he doubled up as an opposition scout. A central tenet of his approach is his belief that there is no substitute for watching players in the flesh, which means he spends much of his life in taxis, airports and hotels.

"For me, live observation is fundamental," he explained in a 2017 interview with Duncan Castles for Yahoo. "For example, a small detail such as observing how a player warms up before a game or coming on as a substitute reveals much of his character. And character is an essential marker in detecting a top talent."

---

Armed with his ever-expanding library of player data and invigorated by the experience of working alongside Mourinho, Campos left Madrid for Monaco in 2013, initially acting as an advisor to club president Vadim Vasilyev and then, in August 2014, becoming technical director. (He also—briefly—tried his hand at international football in 2014, working as an opposition scout for the Argentinian national team at the World Cup in Brazil.)

Campos' change of job title coincided with a sharp shift in Monaco's recruitment strategy. The club spent lavishly in the 2013 summer transfer window—shelling out around €150 million on proven stars including Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho—but the following year, owner Dmitry Rybolovlev decided such huge expenditure was unsustainable. It was then that Campos came into his own.

Using his extensive networks, he set about assembling a squad of up-and-coming young players, all of whom had significant resale value. Bernardo Silva came in from Benfica for €15.75 million, Tiemoue Bakayoko from Rennes for €8 million, Fabinho from Rio Ave for €6 million, Lemar from Caen for €4 million and Benjamin Mendy from Marseille for €13 million. All would later be sold for vastly higher fees.

Campos had left for Lille by the time Leonardo Jardim's Monaco team romped to the title and reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2017, fired by the goals of Falcao and youth-team graduate Mbappe, but his fingerprints were all over their success. The players he brought to Stade Louis II would help the club to generate close to €1 billion from incoming transfer fees.

Campos vowed, as Monaco closed in on the title, that he would create "other masterpieces" in his career, and last summer's transfer window at Lille stood in comparison with any of the dazzling brushwork he produced in the principality.

Having clashed with Marcelo Bielsa over the club's recruitment policy during the Argentinian's blink-and-miss-it tenure as head coach, Campos has played a central role in Lille's renaissance. The cash-strapped club spent a measly €8.9 million on transfers last summer—their shrewd acquisitions including Jose Fonte (free), Zeki Celik (€2.5 million), Jonathan Ikone (€5 million), Jonathan Bamba (free) and Rafael Leao (free)—but the team Campos helped to assemble spectacularly outperformed expectations under Christophe Galtier, going from relegation peril to Champions League qualification in just 12 months.

For El Omari, his former protege, Campos simply possesses an innate ability to spot good players. "Luis doesn't need to see 50 matches [to assess a player's worth]," says the former Morocco international. "He has a gift."

Karanka believes it boils down to a combination of knowledge, experience and motivation.

"He's been in football for a while in different areas: scout, coach, sporting director," says the former Real Madrid centre-back. "And he's very enthusiastic about his job. His passion is the key. If you spend one hour with him, you can be sure that for one hour he'll be speaking about football."

Lille have already sold Thiago Mendes and Youssouf Kone to Lyon for a combined fee of €35.5 million this summer, and Pepe is also expected to leave for as much as €80 million. But the one that everyone really wants, of course, is Campos.

Lille manager Christophe Galtier says that star winger Nicolas Pepe will leave the Ligue 1 club this summer amid speculation Manchester United are one of several teams interested in his signature.

Galtier told Canal+ (h/t Goal) that the 23-year-old will depart in the transfer window and will have his pick of Europe's top clubs.

"Nicolas Pepe will leave. Life's like that; football's like that today. He is a player of the highest level who will have a big decision to make on the choice of his next club. There will be a battle between the great European teams. I hope that he will take good amount of time to think about it, do his research."

Pepe joined Lille in June 2017 from Angers and has gone on to have a big impact at the Ligue 1 side. He has racked up an impressive 22 goals and 11 assists in 37 league appearances this season.

FootballTalentScout highlighted just how effective he has been:

Incredible composure on the ball, dribbling skills, technique and vision. He has it all to become a world class winger.

Nicolas Pépé is an amazing player. Would be a great signing for any top club.

— Football Talent Scout - Jacek Kulig (@FTalentScout) May 18, 2019

The winger bagged a brace on Saturday in a 5-0 win over his former team that secured a second-place finish and helped Lille clinch UEFA Champions League football for next season:

🎶 THE CHAAAAAAAMPPPPIIIIOOOOOOOONNNNNNSSSS! 🌟@ChampionsLeague #UCL pic.twitter.com/aT28Y3S0bl

— LOSC (@LOSC_EN) May 18, 2019

He has also been named as the club's Player of the Season:

Ladies and gentlemen, allow us to present our Player of the Season, Mr. Nicolas Pépé 🎉 🥳. pic.twitter.com/rO4gHQti4A

— LOSC (@LOSC_EN) May 15, 2019

Manchester United are keen to strengthen in the summer after a disappointing campaign and are interested in Pepe, according to David McDonnell at the Mirror. 

Bleacher Report's Rob Blanchette said he would be a good buy for the Red Devils:

Adrien Rabiot and Nicolas Pepe are both positionally the type of players #MUFC should be considering. Rabiot would he the perfect partner for Pogba in the middle and Pepe would be the right-sided forward the team has missed for years. They'd be excellent additions to the squad.

— Rob Blanchette (@_Rob_B) May 14, 2019

Yet Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side will not be able to offer Pepe Champions League football, and they are also likely to face competition from several other big names.

Sport Witness noted some of the clubs linked with the winger:

Nicolas Pepe | Player can now ‘hope to join’ likes of Arsenal & Man United (as well as PSG & Bayern Munich).

Inter Milan set level with ‘€60m offer’.

https://t.co/AbNXmXV3rL #afc #mufc pic.twitter.com/ALwQ0in4ra

— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) April 15, 2019

Football.London's James Benge offered some insight on Arsenal's reported interest:

Lille have confirmed Nicolas Pepe is leaving. Like Zaha, he’s a player Arsenal have a long-standing interest in.

Club would be keen to sign either but would be a major investment, likely to be one where they keep cards close to their chest until later in window.

— James Benge (@jamesbenge) May 19, 2019

Pepe is one of Europe's most exciting young wingers, and Lille will be keen to sell to the highest bidder so they can reinvest in their squad ahead of their Champions League campaign.

The 23-year-old looks to have an exciting future ahead of him, but he will need to choose his next destination carefully and ensure he moves to a club that can help develop his obvious potential.

Lille know Nicolas Pepe will be finding a new club this summer, but team president Gerard Lopez doesn't care if it's Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.

Lopez outlined what the summer will hold for his best player, Ivory Coast winger Pepe, per Goal:

"This is not a secret: we have had many approaches for Nicolas Pepe and we will never be able to match the salary he can get elsewhere. It's clear that he will go to a big club."

"I want him to go to a club that gives him the means to go beyond what Lille can do. The country doesn't matter. This is not an invitation to PSG but I would be very happy to see Nico continue to develop in Ligue 1 and France. There is only one club (in France) that can afford to have a player like him."

The idea of PSG signing one of the biggest talents operating in the French top flight makes sense. Les Parisiens did the same when they secured the signing of striker Kylian Mbappe from AS Monaco in 2017.

Pepe would surely be welcome in the French capital, with PSG manager Thomas Tuchel stating his admiration for the player last month in a media conference: "Pepe has a lot of quality with his speed and strength. He's determined around goal and always dangerous. I don't know his character and personality, but he's a good player."

Ironically, Tuchel's words proved prophetic—Pepe was the star performer when Lille thrashed the would-be Ligue 1 champions 5-1 on home soil.

Nicolas Pépé's game by numbers vs. PSG:

53 touches
32 (81%) passes completed
3 chances created
3 take-ons completed
3 shots
2 assists
1 aerial duel won
1 goal

A fine performance to top his phenomenal season. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/5KmxtPiNjt

— Squawka (@Squawka) April 15, 2019

Those numbers are just part of the story for Pepe, who has been setting standards to rival some of Lille's best-ever players.

20 - Nicolas Pépé is the first Lille player to score at least 20 goals in a single Ligue 1 season since Eden Hazard in 2011/12 (20 goals). Pipolipo. pic.twitter.com/3wyqkmQOjm

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) April 28, 2019

The 23-year-old's consistent high-level performances have been recognised with a nomination for France's Player's Player of the Year Award, per BBC Sport.

Pepe following in the footsteps of Eden Hazard, who joined Chelsea back in 2012, seems close to a certainty. Many of Europe's top clubs are queuing up. Premier League giants Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea have all shown interest, according to Neil Fissler of the Sunday Express.

Fissler also named Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and PSG as keen suitors.

Of all of the interested parties, PSG may make the most sense for Pepe. Les Parisiens have an obvious need for another gifted wide player.

Angel Di Maria is a mercurial creator, but Julian Draxler has struggled to stay injury free and assert himself in France. Meanwhile, Moussa Diaby has potential but is still just 19 and not yet ready to help PSG take a step up in the UEFA Champions League.

By contrast, a front three of Pepe, Mbappe and Neymar would be dynamic and fluid enough to help Tuchel's men fare better in Europe's premier club tournament.

Nicolas Pépé in Ligue 1 for LOSC Lille this season:

Most fouls won • 100
Most dribbles completed • 92
Most key passes • 64
Most shots on target • 53
Most goals • 20
Most assists • 11

It's no exaggeration to say he's the best. pic.twitter.com/76LoxEhQKb

— SCOUTED (@scoutedftbl) April 28, 2019

Beating the competition to sign a player valued at £70 million would be a coup for PSG. It would also provide Lille with the funds to replace the attacking talisman of the squad and fortify other areas of the team ahead of a first Champions League campaign since the 2012/13 season.

As he settled into his seat at Stade Raymond Kopa, Marcelo Bielsa was excited about what he was about to see. At the same time, he knew exactly what he was about to see.

It was May 20, 2017, the final day of the French top-flight season, and Bielsa was attending a game between Angers and Montpellier. He was due to take over as Lille coach at the end of the season, and Angers winger Nicolas Pepe had been identified as a key transfer target. This being Bielsa, he had already watched footage of every single Ligue 1 game Pepe had played up to that point.

Lille's interest in Pepe dated back to the previous November. Luis Campos, who was advising Spanish-Luxembourgish businessman Gerard Lopez in his negotiations to purchase Lille, spotted Pepe while attending Angers' 1-1 draw at Rennes. The former Real Madrid scout was there to look at a Rennes player, but from the moment he saw Pepe, he had eyes for nobody else.

Sent on in the second half with Angers trailing 1-0, Pepe scored a brilliant 82nd-minute equaliser, seizing on a loose ball just outside the Rennes box and whipping a shot into the bottom-left corner with his favoured left foot.

"I quickly fell in love with him," Campos told France Football earlier this year.

Pepe did not find the net when Bielsa watched him in Angers' 2-0 win over Montpellier, but the Argentinian had seen enough. The Ivory Coast international joined Lille a month later as part of a drastic rejuvenation process overseen by Bielsa that set the club back around €70 million.

Convinced of Pepe's goalscoring potential, Bielsa aligned him in an unfamiliar role as a central striker. It was not until Bielsa was sacked—with his inexperienced team rooted in the relegation zone—and replaced by Christophe Galtier that Pepe found his feet in northern France.

Players with 10+ goals and 10+ assists in Europe’s top 5 leagues:

Lionel Messi: 33 ⚽ | 12 🅰️

Nicolas Pepe: 19 ⚽ | 11 🅰️

Eden Hazard: 16 ⚽ | 12 🅰️

Jadon Sancho: 10 ⚽ | 13 🅰️

Pablo Sarabia: 11 ⚽ | 11 🅰️

Dries Mertens: 11 ⚽ | 10 🅰️ pic.twitter.com/IcLBQvbyrE

— Ayodeji (@AyodejiX2) April 16, 2019

Galtier switched Pepe to his preferred position on the right flank and the results were immediate. The youngster scored eight goals and supplied five assists over the last 14 games of the season, notably scoring twice in a 3-2 win at relegation rivals Toulouse in May 2018 that effectively saved Lille from the drop.

He finished the campaign with 13 goals and six assists to his name. This season, the 23-year-old has gone up another level, his 19 goals and 11 assists firing Lille up to second place in Ligue 1 and attracting the attention of some of Europe's biggest clubs. Lille are not expected to sell him for anything less than €80 million. Chelsea, Arsenal, PSG and Bayern Munich have all been linked by Goal.

Pepe's on-pitch relationship with fellow attackers Jonathan Bamba and Jonathan Ikone has earned the trio the nickname "Bip Bip," which is the French name for the Road Runner from the Looney Tunes cartoon series.

Their blistering pace on the break has turned Lille into one of the most devastating counter-attacking teams in Europe.

Nobody personifies the threat Lille pose better than the jet-heeled Pepe, whose goals this term include a run from his own half to score against Nimes, a breathtaking dash down the right flank to score against Nice and an ice-cool strike in the 5-1 rout of Paris Saint-Germain (a game in which he added two assists for good measure).

Only Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe boast most direct goal involvements (goals + assists) in Europe's top five leagues this season. It is the first time since Eden Hazard left for Chelsea in 2012 that Lille can lay claim to one of the most exciting players in world football.

"He amazes me, he amazes us," Galtier said in February. "He's certain to become a world-class player because he knows how to do everything.

"He doesn't need an intermediate step. After the great season he's having with us, he can go straight to a Champions League club."

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Had things panned out differently, Pepe might have spent the past few seasons amassing clean sheets rather than goals and assists.

Raised in northeast Paris, he was always capable with the ball at his feet, yet he played in goal until his early teens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHO_kA2yboQ

"He was just as good in goal as he was on the pitch," recalls Guy Fraineau, president of Pepe's first club, FC Paris Solitaires Est.

"We didn't have a good goalkeeper at that time, so he played in goal. As soon as we went 3-0 up, he came out. He played in goal for a whole season."

Aged 14, Pepe moved to Poitiers in western France with his family after his father, a prison warden, took up a job in the area. After joining local club Poitiers FC (now known as Stade Poitevin), he hung up his gloves for good.

Philippe Leclerc, then working as Poitiers' sporting director, was blown away by Pepe's ability on the ball, but despite some impressive performances at youth level, recruiters from professional clubs were deterred by his rangy physique and concerns about his attitude.

"We had recruiters at Poitiers every weekend and they never approached him. Never," Leclerc told Bleacher Report.

"Because he was a bit willowy, with his long legs. You could see that he had good technique, but he didn't correspond to the criteria that the [professional] clubs were looking for.

"He also had an attitude that was a bit casual. People thought he was inconsistent or that he was lazy in certain situations. Everything seemed so simple with Nico. And that's why he slacked off every now and again."

In spite of the reservations expressed by recruiters, Pepe was soon a regular fixture in the Poitiers first team, who played in the French fifth tier. Those who were at the club have fond memories of a virtuoso performance that he produced against Nantes reserves—the newly crowned league champions—on the final day of the 2012-13 season, helping Poitiers to secure a 3-1 win that spared them from relegation.

"He was playing for an amateur club and he hadn't yet turned 18. But he was the best player on the pitch," says Leclerc, who now works as director of recruitment at Angers.

"The Nantes coaches were flabbergasted to see a talent like that playing amateur football."

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Leclerc mentioned Pepe to his friend Stephane Moulin, who was the head coach at nearby Angers, and in the summer of 2013, the teenager left Poitiers for Stade Raymond Kopa.

His move to Angers brought him under the supervision of Abdel Bouhazama, who ran the club's youth programme. At the time of his arrival, Pepe sported an extravagant, Neymar-style blond mohawk. The first thing Bouhazama did was tell him to get rid of it.

Like Leclerc, Bouhazama quickly realised Pepe's potential, but he also felt the youngster lacked discipline and focus.

"He played football like he was playing with his mates, as if he was playing against the side of a building or at school," Bouhazama told Bleacher Report.

"For him, football was a game. It was something you did for pleasure. The statistics—goals, assists—that was all new to him."

It became apparent to Bouhazama that Pepe was every bit as unpredictable off the pitch as he was on it. Whether it was complaints from teachers or midnight phone-calls from the night supervisor at the academy, Pepe kept everyone on their toes.

Bouhazama's solution was tough love. On occasions, he would haul Pepe and his team-mates out of their beds at 5 a.m. in the morning and take them for runs past local binmen in an attempt to make them appreciate how fortunate they were to play football for a living.

One disciplinary incident almost ended Pepe's career before it had even begun. Before training one morning, he and a group of young team-mates were wandering around a supermarket when they picked up a chocolate bar and ate it without going to the till. Caught by the store security guard, they were at risk of having their contracts terminated. But Bouhazama, Angers president Said Chabane and general manager Olivier Pickeu decided to grant them a second chance.

"It was a wake-up call," Bouhazama says. "I really think he got a fright. He wasn't far away from being excluded. His dream of becoming a professional footballer would have ended."

Pepe remains grateful for Bouhazama's guidance, saying in a February interview with France Football: "If I hadn't run into him, I might not be where I am today."

After getting his first taste of first-team football in Ligue 2 during the 2014-15 season, Pepe was sent out on loan to third-tier Orleans. It was to prove another turning point. He struggled to impose himself at first, but he finished the season with nine goals in 33 appearances, helping Orleans to promotion and being voted the best player in the division.

"I think the Orleans loan did him good," Bouhazama says. "He came back to us with much more maturity and he was much more effective in terms of his performances."

In Pepe's absence, Angers secured promotion to Ligue 1. The following season was the one during which he would make Lille's decision-makers go weak at the knees.

Two years on, he has the great and good of European football on his tail. The only question now is how high he can go.