Ekitike, Cho and the 10 Ligue 1 players to explode in the last six months

Robin Bairner

Updated: 9 Feb 2022 09:46 CST
3 min read

Reims striker Hugo Ekitike is linked with Newcastle and Liverpool — © ProShots

Ligue 1 continues to live up to its reputation as being a breeding ground for some of the biggest talents in world football.

Kylian Mbappe, of course, exploded for Monaco and then Paris Saint-Germain to become one of the elite players in the game, and now there are a clutch of stars following in his footsteps.

Article continues under the video

Indeed, of the ten players in France’s top flight to have made the greatest progress this season, there are eight teenagers and not a single player over the age of 21.

Often, these stars are operating at clubs fighting for European positions in Ligue 1.

Which Ligue 1 players have improved the most?

Centre-back Warmed Omari has made the greatest leap in his game this season, according to sports analytics specialists SciSports.

The Rennes centre-back was an unknown when he debuted for the club in August, but he has since gone on to establish himself not only as a starter with Rennes, but a player who some of Europe’s biggest clubs are keeping an eye on.

Indeed, it is defensive players that dominate the upper part of the ranking in France. Lyon full-back Malo Gusto has been a player touted for big things since his academy days, and the 18-year-old’s smooth progress into the first team has been underlined by his dramatic improvement in the eyes of SciSports, who attribute a value to players on the basis of their statistical performance over time.

Club-mate Castello Lukeba, a centre-back, also scores well from Lyon.

Completing the top five are breakout players Maxime Esteve and Quentin Merlin on Montpellier and Nantes respectively. Both began the season as backup players but are firmly in the first-team picture, albeit Esteve has had injury issues lately.

Ligue 1's most improved players

Player	Club	SciSkill Development
Warmed Omari	Rennes	29.0
Malo Gusto	Lyon	28.6
Maxime Esteve	Montpellier	21.1
Castello Lukeba	Lyon	19.6
Quentin Merlin	Nantes	19.4
Mohamed-Ali Cho	Angers	19.2
Timothee Pembele	Bordeaux	18.9
Bamba Dieng	Marseille	18.5
Hugo Ekitike	Reims	17.7
Elye Wahi	Montpellier	16.3

In terms of attacking players, former England U16 international Mohamed-Ali Cho has been the most positive mover, with the 18-year-old also possessing the highest potential of any of these players, according to SciSports’ calculations.

Bamba Dieng, who was in the Senegal squad to win the Africa Cup of Nations and turns out for Marseille, Reims’ forward Hugo Ekitike, who was the subject of a big-money approach from Newcastle in January, and promising Montpellier attack Elye Wahi round out the ranking.

Read more about: Ligue 1 Angers Bordeaux Brest Clermont Lens Lille Lorient Lyon Marseille Metz Monaco Montpellier Nantes Nice PSG Reims Saint-Etienne Stade Rennais Strasbourg Troyes Bamba Dieng Castello Lukeba Elye Wahi Hugo Ekitiké Malo Gusto Maxime Estève Mohamed-Ali Cho Quentin Merlin Timothée Pembélé Warmed Omari