Kevin Danso (RC Lens)

Lens are flying high in second place in the Ligue 1 Uber Eats table and have the best defensive record in the division. Austrian international defender Danso  has played a major part in their defensive success, which has provided the foundation for Franck Haise’s team to go on and challenge for UEFA Champions League qualification, and possibly even the title. The 24-year-old, signed from German Bundesliga side FC Augsburg at the beginning of last season on a five-year deal, has played every minute in the league in this campaign, slotting in between Jonathan Gradit and Facundo Medina in a three-man central defence.

Bought for a reported €5 million, his market value has increased significantly since then and he may well be of interest to clubs in the English Premier League. After all, Danso was brought up in England after moving to Milton Keynes from Austria at the age of six. He spent time in the academies at Reading and Milton Keynes Dons, frequenting future England star Dele Alli at the latter. And Danso already has Premier League experience, making six appearances on loan at Southampton in the 2019-20 season.

“He works really hard and is one of the few players to actually come and ask me for video sessions with footage that he has selected himself. For me, Kevin is one of the best defenders in Europe at the moment,” said Haise earlier this season.

Marshall Munetsi (Stade de Reims)

On-loan Arsenal hotshot Folarin Balogun has dominated the headlines in Will Still’s impressive Stade de Reims team this season, but Zimbabwe international midfielder Munetsi  has also been outstanding. Indeed, his tally of six goals makes him the Champagne club’s joint second-best marksman behind Balogun, who has 18. The 26-year-old is a powerful, rampaging presence in midfield, precious going forward as well as when it comes to doing the dirty work.

Signed from South African giants Orlando Pirates in 2019, Munetsi last year extended his contract at the Stade Auguste-Delaune until 2026. That means a big offer would likely be needed to tempt Reims to part company with a man who recently joined the Global Player Council of FIFPro, the global players’ union.

“Being a voice for others is something that’s been with me since school when I was deputy head boy,” said Munetsi, who also has his own charitable foundation helping children in his home country. “We deserve the money we earn, but what are we supposed to do with it? I want to change the world,” he recently told the sports daily L’Equipe.

Habib Diallo (RC Strasbourg Alsace)

Diallo  has hardly just revealed himself to the world this season. After all he was part of the Senegal squad when the Lions of Teranga won last year’s Africa Cup of Nations. He first appeared in Ligue 1 as a 21-year-old with FC Metz in August 2016 and is now approaching 150 top-flight appearances in France. Yet this is already Diallo’s best campaign at this level. After rattling in 26 goals in Ligue 2 for Metz in 2018-19, another 12 in Ligue 1 the following season led to him earning a move to Strasbourg in October 2020 for a reported fee of €10 million plus bonuses.

That fee is now looking like an absolute bargain, given that Diallo scored 20 goals across his first two seasons in Alsace and is already on 15 in this campaign, having appeared in every match. Diallo is by some distance the top-scoring player with a club involved in the fight against relegation and his goals could well be what keeps Strasbourg up come the end of the season. But beyond that, what might the future hold for the powerful 27-year-old penalty-box poacher? Diallo is under contract until 2025, so there is no desperate need for Strasbourg to listen to offers, but they will find it hard to resist bids that allow them to make a big profit.

Enzo Le Fée (FC Lorient)

The 23-year-old FC Lorient midfielder, who represented France at the Tokyo Olympics, is a delightfully gifted footballer who makes up for his lack of physical presence with a brilliant touch – it is no surprise that he models his game on Andrés Iniesta. A native of the Brittany town, Le Fée  made his debut in the 2018-19 season in Ligue 2. A regular since their return to Ligue 1 in 2020, he has reached another level this season, scoring or setting up nine league goals so far in a Lorient team who have exceeded all expectations.

Le Fée’s difficult childhood, much of which his father spent in prison, has been well documented. He may now see this summer as the time to finally fly the nest and there will be plenty of interest in a player who will be heading into the final year of his contract. Following the departures of Terem Moffi and Dango Ouattara in the January window, Le Fée could be the next key player to leave Les Merlus.

Branco van den Boomen (Toulouse FC)

The 27-year-old Dutch midfielder was the standout player on Toulouse FC’s run to promotion last season, earning the award for Ligue 2 player of the year. He has handled the step up to the highest level superbly and has five goals and eight assists in Ligue 1. The central midfielder’s greatest asset is his brilliant deliveries from a dead ball, and he is an even more attractive proposition to suitors because he is out of contract at Le Stadium at the end of the campaign, meaning he will be available on a free transfer.

If he does depart, Toulouse president Damien Comolli will have to hope the club’s now-famous data analysis department can unearth another gem. Much like Van den Boomen  was himself when he arrived from De Graafschap in the Dutch second tier in 2020. Once a prospect in the Ajax youth system, Van den Boomen never broke into the Amsterdam outfit’s first team but there may be interest from that calibre of club this time.

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