Alexandre Lacazette transfer: How Didier Drogba, Anthony Martial, Djibril Cisse and more Ligue 1 strikers fared abroad
With Alexandre Lacazette on the verge of joining Arsenal from Lyon, we investigate how other Ligue 1 strikers have fared after leaving France.
According to Sky sources, Lacazette completed a medical at Arsenal’s training ground on Tuesday ahead of his proposed £52m move to the Emirates.
The Frenchman boasted the highest chance conversion rate in Europe’s top five leagues last season (38.9 per cent), while his 28 Ligue 1 goals was more than the combined tally of Arsenal quartet Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott, Danny Welbeck and Lucas Perez.
However, there is no guarantee the 26-year-old will continue that impressive form in front of goal in his debut campaign in north London, as some of these former Ligue 1 forwards’ records abroad show….
Alexandre Lacazette
Lyon (2016/17): 28 goals in 30 Ligue 1 games (a goal every 0.93 games); 37 goals in 45 games in all competitions (a goal every 0.82 games)
The France international enjoyed his most prolific season in front of goal last time out, scoring 37 times in all competitions, while also bringing up a century of goals for Lyon in the process.
Arsenal (2017/18): ???
From Ligue 1 to the Premier League
Michy Batshuayi
Marseille (2015/16): 17 goals in 36 Ligue 1 games (a goal every 0.47 games); 23 goals in 50 games in all competitions (a goal every 0.46 games)
Batshuayi was in red-hot form for Marseille in the 2015/16 season, hitting the back of the net on 23 occasions in 50 matches in all competitions at a strike rate of almost a goal every other game.
Chelsea (2016/17): 5 goals in 20 Premier League games (a goal every 0.25 games); 11 goals in 29 games in all competitions (a goal every 0.37 games)
Despite being Antonio Conte’s first signing as Chelsea manager in July 2016, the striker struggled to nail down a regular starting berth up front for his new side last season, with the Italian preferring Diego Costa in attack instead. However, the 23-year-old did end the campaign in the goals, including scoring the winner at West Brom in May that saw the Blues crowned champions.
Divock Origi
Lille (14/15): 8 goals in 33 Ligue 1 games (a goal every 0.24 games); 9 goals in 44 games in all competitions (a goal every 0.2 games)
After impressing as an impact substitute for his country at the 2014 World Cup – including scoring a winner in the group stage against Russia – the Belgian joined the Reds, only to be loaned straight back to Lille for the 2014/15 campaign. But the forward scored just nine times that season.
Liverpool (2015/16): 5 goals in 16 Premier League games (a goal every 0.31 games); 10 goals in 34 games in all competitions (a goal every 0.29 games)
Origi’s scoring rate in his debut season at Anfield was very similar to that in his last campaign in northern France and while the player was hardly prolific, he did grab some crucial goals, including a vital away strike against Borussia Dortmund in the Reds’ run to the Europa League final.
Anthony Martial
Monaco (2014/15):9 goals in 35 Ligue 1 games (a goal every 0.25 games);12 goals in 48 games in all competitions (a goal every 0.25 games)
Martial was hardly scoring for fun before making his £57.6m move to Old Trafford in September 2015. The forward had managed just 12 goals in 48 games for Monaco the previous campaign while failing to net at all in three Ligue 1 matches just prior to joining the Red Devils.
Man Utd (2015/16): 11 goals in 31 Premier League games (a goal every 0.35 games); 17 goals in 52 games in all competitions (a goal every 0.32 games)
In stark contrast, however, the Frenchman enjoyed a highly successful debut campaign at United, coming off the bench to score on his debut against arch-rivals Liverpool on his way to finishing the season as the club’s top scorer.
Djibril Cisse
Auxerre (2003/04): 26 goals in 38 Ligue 1 games (a goal every 0.68 games); 29 goals in 50 games in all competitions (a goal every 0.58 games)
Cisse earned a big-money move to Liverpool on the back of an impressive 2003/04 season with Auxerre in which the forward scored 26 goals in only 38 Ligue 1 games, more than any other player.
Liverpool (2004/05): 4 goals in 16 Premier League games (a goal every 0.25 games); 5 goals in 25 games in all competitions (a goal every 0.2 games)
However, the Frenchman endured a difficult first 12 months at Anfield after breaking his tibia and fibula at Blackburn Rovers in October 2004. As a result, the forward missed the next six months of the season, before ending the campaign with five goals to his name in total.
Didier Drogba
Marseille (2003/04):19 goals in 35 Ligue 1 games (a goal every 0.54 games); 31 goals in 53 games in all competitions (a goal every 0.58 games)
Drogba only had one season at Marseille, but what a campaign it was with the frontman netting 31 goals in 53 matches in total at a rate of 0.58 goals per game as the Ligue 1 side made it to the UEFA Cup final.
Chelsea (2004/05): 10 goals in 26 Premier League games (0.38); 16 goals in 41 games in all competitions (a goal every 0.39 games)
In comparison, the Ivorian’s first season at Stamford Bridge was less prolific, but the player did miss more than two months of the campaign with a stomach injury on his way to scoring 16 goals in 41 matches. However, the Blues did claim a first top-flight title in 50 years and the League Cup, with Drogba – who went on to become one of Chelsea’s greatest-ever strikers – scoring in the club’s 3-2 win over Liverpool in the final.
El-Hadji Diouf
Lens (2001/02): 10 goals in 26 Ligue 1 games (a goal every 0.38 games; 10 goals in 27 games in all competitions (a goal every 0.37 games)
Diouf scored 10 times for Lens in the 2001/02 season, before his eye-catching displays for Senegal in that summer’s World Cup persuaded Reds boss Gerard Houllier to pay £10m for his services.
Liverpool: (2002/03): 3 goals in 29 Premier League games (a goal every 0.1 games); 5 goals in 46 games in all competitions (a goal every 0.1 games)
Despite scoring twice on his Reds debut against Southampton in August 2002, the forward went on to add just one more Premier League goal to his tally that season, while he managed five goals in his entire Reds career.
From Ligue 1 to other leagues abroad
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
St Etienne (2012/13): 19 goals in 37 Ligue 1 games (a goal every 0.51 games); 21 goals in 45 games in all competitions (a goal every 0.46 games)
Aubameyang was in deadly form in front of goal for St Etienne in 2012/13, scoring 19 times in 37 games while finishing second behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the Ligue 1 scoring charts.
Borussia Dortmund (2013/14): 13 goals in 32 Bundesliga games (a goal every 0.4 games); 16 goals in 48 games in all competitions (a goal every 0.33 games)
However, despite recording a hat-trick on his Dortmund debut, the Gabon international was unable to maintain a similar scoring rate in his first season in Germany that he managed in his final campaign with St Etienne.
Karim Benzema
Lyon (2008/09):17 goals in 36 Ligue 1 games (a goal every 0.47 games); 23 goals in 47 games in all competitions (a goal every 0.48 games)
While not as prolific as the previous campaign, Benzema was still on target 23 times in all competitions in his final season at Lyon, so much so that Real Madrid decided to lure the player to the Santiago Bernabeu in June 2009.
Real Madrid (2009/10): 8 goals in 27 La Liga games (a goal every 0.29 games); 9 goals in 33 games in all competitions (a goal every 0.27 games)
The Frenchman struggled to replicate his goals-per-game ratio from his last season at Lyon in his debut campaign at the Bernabeu, with his nine strikes coming in 33 games in total. However, in his subsequent seven seasons in the Spanish capital, the player has never failed to reach double figures.Soccer Accumulator Bonus
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