- Renaud Emond, 28-year-old striker, signed to FC Nantes.
- This center forward, a defector of Standard de Liège, is described as "a surface fox" in his country.
- The one who could qualify, Sunday, for the match in Saint-Etienne, is he able to become a good scorer in Ligue 1?
"Hello Mogi ... SOS goal scorer!" Saturday, after the Canaries' qualification to Bayone (0-2) and the injury of Kalifa Coulibaly, the management of FC Nantes accelerated their search for an offensive recruit. A presidential phone call to Mogi Bayat, the club's unofficial sports director, and that's how the track of Standard Liège striker Renaud Emond became a priority. A priority then a reality a few days later with a signature for two and a half years (against a transfer fee of between 3 and 4 million).
"I wanted to pass a level, it's been several years that I scored more than 15 goals in Belgium, explained the Belgian of 28 years this Thursday noon. Sometimes you have to leave your comfort zone. I wanted to try my luck in Ligue 1 and see if I had the level. "This is the question that has been on everyone's lips in Nantes for three days ... Renaud Emond, never called upon by the Red Devils and having never played elsewhere than in Belgium, can he shine in the French football elite?
“This is what is called a good little player, observes RTBF journalist Thierry Luthers, who praises the human qualities of Edmond. It's a bit cliché, but it's a real fox on the surface. After, it is not the fastest, it is not the one that has the most beautiful relaxation. He is not sexy, not very glamorous. You shouldn't ask him more than he can do… ”
"He's not going to dribble four players ..."
This is good coach Christian Gourcuff, who had not included this striker in his list for Santa Claus, should use it in a position of pure center forward. A role that has rather succeeded for two and a half years because he has 44 goals and 12 assists in all competitions. The "rectangle" (the repair area for Belgians) is his garden.
"Let him play five games in a row and that's for sure he will score, believe me! insists Axel Lawarée, ex-sporting director of Standard at the origin of the player's arrival in 2015. He will not dribble four players, but he will also be able to sacrifice himself for the team by making calls to free up spaces. "His adaptation to Ligue 1? “The French championship is more physical, faster, but Renaud will not let go and will work. And it is not because he changes country that he will lose his scoring qualities. It will take a little time to adapt! "
Qualified Sunday in Saint-Etienne?
Hoping for the FCN that it will be shorter than when the player arrived at Standard in 2015. "His time has really arrived after two years, remembers Aleksandar Jankovic, his coach in Liège during the 2016 exercise. 2017. He went through a lot of difficult times. Few people have picked up so many blows and got up as was the case for Renaud. "Axel Lawarée confirms:" Coaches did not believe in him but he never said anything, he worked. "
Even if Jankovic is one of those coaches who did not offer a significant playing time to Emond, the current hope coach of China is laudatory. “He is an extraordinary boy, a generous striker as I like them. Even if he does not score, he will run so much that he will free up space for others. Whatever happens, it will weigh on the defenses in Ligue 1, you will see. »First glimpse perhaps on Sunday afternoon in Saint-Etienne if Renaud Emond is well qualified.
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