The new French Ligue 1 season begins on Friday when champions Paris Saint-Germain travel to Le Havre on the opening night. A new era begins for the Qatar-based club following the departure of Kylian Mbappe.
With the superstar striker moving on, AFP Sport picks out five new faces to keep an eye on in the 2024/25 season:
Joao Neves (Paris Saint Germain)
PSG will begin the season without a big-name striker to fill the void left by Mbappe, but they have splurged to strengthen other areas of the team. Neves, the highly-rated 19-year-old Portuguese midfielder, has arrived from Benfica for a fee that could reach €69.9 million ($76.7 million) including bonuses.
Neves, who made 55 appearances for Benfica last season before taking his country to Euro 2024, will still have to earn his place in PSG’s midfield. Vitinha, Warren Zaire-Emery and Fabian Ruiz were all impressive last season and will not give up their starting places in Luis Enrique’s team easily.
Roberto De Zerbi (Marseille)
Marseille have never had a reputation as a stable club but cannot afford another season as chaotic as the last one, which saw three coaches disappear. Marcelino, Gennaro Gattuso and Jean-Louis Gasset were all in charge at one point as OM reached the semi-finals of the Europa League but finished eighth in Ligue 1 and failed to qualify for Europe.
They needed a big name to galvanise the fans and the signing of De Zerbi has done just that. The 45-year-old Italian has previously performed well in the Premier League with Brighton and Hove Albion and is expected to help the former Champions League winners return to Europe’s elite club league.
Mason Greenwood (Marseille)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored 30 goals for Marseille’s struggling side last season, and after his departure to Saudi Arabia, the club must now look for attacking reinforcements. Elye Wahi joined from Lens for €25 million, but most of the attention will be on Greenwood.
The 22-year-old Englishman joined from Manchester United, where his career started promisingly before he was suspended in January 2022 following allegations of attempted rape and sexual assault.
Prosecutors dropped the charges in February 2023 and he spent last season in Spain with Getafe. Nevertheless, Marseille fans, including the city’s left-wing mayor Benoit Payan, condemned Greenwood’s signing.
“It is a complex and old situation,” insisted Marseille President Pablo Longoria.
Georges Mikautadze (Lyon)
As a reward for the impressive 2024 European Championship with Georgia, the 23-year-old striker moved from relegated Metz to Lyon for an initial fee of 18.5 million euros.
Mikautadze scored 11 goals in the second half of last season while on loan at the struggling Metz side after returning to his old club from Ajax, where he had struggled to settle.
He was originally supposed to move to Monaco, but then he decided to return to Lyon, where he started in the youth academy, as he was born in the city into a Georgian family.
His arrival will ease the pressure on captain Alexandre Lacazette, who led Lyon’s attack with 22 goals last season but will need a rest after playing for France at the Olympics.
Lamine Camara (Monaco)
Although Monaco had to miss out on Mikautadze, they were able to secure the services of another promising talent from Metz: the 20-year-old Senegalese midfielder Camara.
Named the 2023 African Young Player of the Year, Camara has a bright future ahead of him. He was inconsistent in a weak team last season, but his transfer to the principality for a reported €13.5 million gives him the chance to make his mark in the Champions League.
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