Our man in France is back to deliver his assessment of Ligue 1's leading lights over the past month.
Fast approaching the midway point of an exciting and increasingly unpredictable season of French football, plenty of new talent is emerging in Ligue 1. This month's top five players may not have as familiar a feel as previous entries with an absence of obvious names but there have been some outstanding performances from unexpected players. Paris Saint-Germain were finally dethroned at the top of the league on matchweek 15 and have yet to regain top spot from this season's surprise package Montpellier although they now only trail la Paillade on goal difference. Marseille were the team to knock the capital club off their perch with a thumping 3-0 victory in the Clasico and they have managed to haul themselves up to eighth following a good run of form. Lille and Lyon meanwhile continue to chase the top two and an extra Champions League place with Rennes and Toulouse a little further adrift of the pack. Meanwhile Nancy, Nice and Ajaccio bring up the rear in an unsurprising bottom three.
Top five stars in the last month:
Nicolas N'Koulou
The Cameroon international has long been touted as one of French football's best young defensive talents and this season he has finally started to fulfill some of that potential. Signed by Marseille in the summer from relegated Monaco, the youngster initially struggled to adapt to his new surroundings in a team that was lacking self-belief and discipline and was harangued for a number of costly inept performances. However, the 21-year old has since turned his form around and become an integral part of an OM side who have recently turned a corner in their season and started to put together some strong results.
In the last month he has helped his side to three clean sheets in their previous five matches which has seen them rise from mid-table to eighth position and N'Koulou has caught the eye with some impressive performances. A strong, solid but quick centre-back, the Cameroonian has attracted the interest of a number of Premier League sides with his recent form and this has led to speculation in France that he could be tempted to England in the near future. However, whether Marseille would be prepared to let one of their prized assets go only six months into a four-year deal is doubtful.
The player's representative recently spoke to L'Equipe about the defender and insists he is happy in Provence: "Nicolas is fine in Marseille at the moment.
"He is keen to experience lots of success at Marseille. As long as he has the trust of the coach (Didier Deschamps ) and the club, there is no reason for him to look elsewhere."
Perhaps, but if he keeps putting in top notch performances on a consistent basis then expect a number of bigger European clubs to come knocking on Deschamps' door with a bid worthy of testing the club's resolve. The OM defence has gelled into a much tighter, more effective unit since the stopper has found his form and with their defensive woes now seemingly behind them Marseille will be targeting a title challenge in the second half of the season.
Julien Feret
Much was made of Julien Feret's highly anticipated summer return to Rennes, the club he had left in 2004 and many believed that he would provide the final piece in Frederic Antonetti's jigsaw puzzle at the Breton club, as they seek to better last season's strong showing and finally break into French football's top three. Les Rouges-et-Noirs currently sit fifth in the table and Feret has done everything he can to take the club higher having notched two goals and two assists in the past month. His contribution towards his side's two wins in five games has justified his pre-season hype. One of those wins came at Lyon in an impressive showing where he laid on the winning goal and the other assist helped his side to a recent draw with Brest.
Both of his goals came against Evian in a thrilling 3-2 victory in week 15 and the first effort was a contender for goal of the season. A sublime effort that saw him glide past four players with ease before capping it with a supremely confident finish saw him take the plaudits for what was eventually an important win for Antonetti's men, which he secured with a late penalty to add to a barnstorming display.
Naturally a creative midfielder, Feret has chipped in with five goals and five assists so far this season and has slotted perfectly into a team boasting exciting attacking talents such as Jonathan Pitroipa, Jires Kembo-Ekoko, Youssouf Hadji and Victor Hugo Montano. Amongst the league's highest scorers this season with 28, Feret has acted as the creative point of this Rennes side - providing a focal point for the attack and a bridge between the side's defensive attacking midfield talent Yann M'Vila and the strong threat posed up top by their rich attacking squad depth.
Expect more from the 29-year old as the season progresses and he will surely be starting to gather admirers in the Premier League as one of Ligue 1's most consistent stand-out performers so far this season. With a number of France's biggest sides also looking to reinforce their attacking lineups the competition for his signature could be intense if his hot streak continues.
Dennis Oliech
A surprise name on this month's list is Dennis Oliech. The 26-year old was continually derided for his inability to find the net regularly over the past two seasons, with just seven goals mustered altogether. This term he has already reached that figure, capping a remarkable turnaround to the Kenyan's Ligue 1 career. Recent goals against PSG and Nice have added to earlier strikes that include a memorable hat-trick against Sochaux in week eight and he is currently one of Ligue 1's leading scorers despite playing for Auxerre who were struggling in lowly 16th position before their victory over fellow basement rivals Nice lifted them to 13th. The feat is made all the more remarkable by the fact that his first goal this campaign came in week 7 against Lorient.
Since the start of the season talented midfielder Alain Traore was taking much of the attention for his wonderful displays and quickly hit a hot streak of goalscoring form that saw AJA keeping pace with some of the big guns at the top of the table in the early weeks. However, once this form dipped it has been Oliech who has stepped in to share the load with Traore and his goals have been keeping Laurent Fournier's side afloat in recent weeks.
Following their game against Nice this weekend his manager had this to say about the player: "Everyone was criticising him at the start of the season, but he has worked and improved."
Opposite number Rene Marsiglia also added: "When you're in the position Auxerre are in, to have such a player in your ranks changes everything."
What a change in status for the Kenyan. Once considered a joke for his lack of confidence in front of goal, his new-found swagger now has opposition managers viewing his as the main threat to their defences when they come up against Auxerre. Recent rumours have linked him with a move across the Channel in January but it remains to be seen if Auxerre will let go of their new-found prized property. It also remains unclear whether the mystery man will continue his rich vein of form or disappear back into anonymity as his form is too erratic to predict.
Daniel Wass
Another lesser-known name to those unfamiliar to Ligue 1 will be Daniel Wass. The Denmark international currently on loan at Evian from Portuguese giants Benfica is naturally a defender but his recent deployment in midfield by ETGFC's manager Bernard Casoni has paid dividends for the Ligue 1 newcomers. Three goals in four games have seen Wass' stock rise massively and he is quickly becoming recognized as one of French football's hottest properties.
Playing at right midfield with an ability to switch flanks if necessary, Wass' best quality is his ability to time his runs behind defences, leaving him with a one-on-one with the goalkeeper or an opportunity to score with minimal opposition to challenge him. This talent has seen him net three goals in quick succession lately against Lorient, Rennes and Toulouse. Less well-known for his ability to provide goals instead of scoring them, he has also provided one assist to date so far this term and is growing into his role in Annecy.
Only 22-years-old, it is expected that Wass will return to Benfica at the end of the season where he is yet to play a game but given his form, a number of other clubs could be tempted to give him that chance and make the Lisbon giants an offer they cannot refuse. Teams across Europe are already said to be monitoring his progress and some of France's leading sides will no doubt have his name written down as they look to rebuild their sides over the next six months.
Olivier Giroud
Despite making it into my top five for last month, it is very difficult to overlook Olivier Giroud and the contribution he has made towards turning Montpellier into a credible title-challenging outfit again this month. An emphatic four-goal haul this month including a sublime hat-trick in a 1-3 win against Sochaux that has seen his tally rise to 12 goals this season, but this month was even more impressive because of the goals that the striker has been laying on for his teammates. Not only did he find the net four times himself but he also laid on four goals in the same amount of time, three of which came in a sensational showing against Lorient where he demonstrated the full extent of his talents by showing great aerial ability, vision, deft touches and a selfless attitude as la Paillade romped to victory.
Rumours both in France and the UK have recently been linking Giroud with a love to Newcastle amongst other sides and although it seems the player would be keen to challenge himself in the Premier League in the future, now is not the time for him to be considering a move.
Speaking about his good form recently he said: "I am very happy with the start of the season. I am in good form, in good physical condition so I am lucky at the moment and enjoying my football.
"It is normal to be linked with clubs when you are scoring goals.
"I like the English Premier League and Newcastle are a big club, so who knows?"
"But at the moment I am thinking about Montpellier and putting them on the European map at the end of the season."
The big question for Giroud now is whether he can maintain his stellar form into the New Year and fire Montpellier into Europe. The suitors are there waiting. They will now just have to be patient and wait until the end of the season before attempting to snare him in what will be one of the most eagerly anticipated transfers of the summer. Newcastle meanwhile have moved to offset this disappointment by lining up a deal that will see Sochaux striker Modibo Maiga complete his protracted move to the club at the beginning of January.
Joe Cole watch
In other news it has been a bit of a quiet month for Joe Cole on the pitch despite there being plenty of rumours surrounding him off it. There is a lot of talk about whether Lille will be able to afford to offer him a permanent deal to keep him in France beyond the end of this season and whispers have suggested that Cole would be prepared to consider a pay cut should a reasonable proposal be put on the table. However, a deal is a long way off and in the meantime Cole is concentrating on his football.
On the pitch, Lille have eased their way into third place with some recent good form that has seen them win three of their last four league games but also exit the UEFA Champions League. Cole has hardly been in inspired form in his appearances during this time but is still showing signs of being the player that Lille hoped they would get when they signed him in August. Now the challenge for him is to rediscover his promising early form and regularly reproduce it now that he is fully match fit. There is no better time to find it than in this weekend's huge showdown with PSG in Paris which can see Lille overtake their second-placed rivals with a victory.
January is now shaping up to be an interesting month in terms of activity between the English Premier League and Ligue 1, especially with the stories linking Carlos Tevez and David Beckham with moves to PSG gathering momentum. Could Joe Cole be joined by a few other familiar faces in the coming weeks? We'll have to wait and see...
