Very much at home on Wednesday in a friendly win over Bastia (2-0), young central defender Samuel Umtiti might have finally convinced http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-Lyonnais-c40130 and Remi Garde not to buy a new central defender in the winter transfer window
While talking to the media a few days back, Olympique Lyonnais coach Remi Garde said that the club is looking for defensive reinforcements this winter.
However, Garde also said that he might not be able to see his wish granted as the club is currently not in a position to spend lavishly in the transfer market anymore.
On Wednesday night, Les Gones played a friendly at Bastia and won the game 2-0. The French tactician was forced to field 18-year-old centre-back Samuel Umtiti in the absence of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/John-Mensah-c18877 and Bakary Kone.
However, the youngster’s self-assured performances gave Remi Garde a lot of hope for the future and a reason to smile if the club fails to sign UAE international Hamdan Al-Kamali.
“I appreciated what he did even though I sometimes like to see more. He is among those who have begun to give some interesting answers,” said Garde after the game while talking about the youngster’s performance that really caught the eye.
While talking about his performance, Umtiti took a modest view of things and reflected more on the little things he got wrong during the game.
“I still have many things to correct in placing passes. I did good things and some not so good. Of course I want to play my first official game with the pros. I also know that there may be opportunities right now to play in central defence,” said Umtiti.
Along with the likes of Alexander Lacazette, Maxime Gonalons, Clement Grenier and Thimothée Kolodziejczak, Umtiti is considered as one of the hottest young players at Lyon and Remi Garde is sure to give the 18-year-old defender fair amount of game time.
With John Mensah and Bakary Kone departing for the African Cup of Nations to represent their respective countries, Garde would certainly be forced to find good replacements. In the shape of Umtiti, Garde may have found an ideal centre-back who has a long
way to go in his pro career.
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