Player Focus: The Lowdown on Premier League Targets Gueye, Kanté & Lemina

Transfer trends tend to come and go but as far as the Premier League is concerned, interest in players from across the channel remains as high as ever. Switches from Ligue 1 to England's top-flight have been commonplace in recent years, and where it used to be Arsenal that looked to recruit from over the pond, Newcastle were almost overthrown by French speaking players during Alan Pardew's time at the club.

Things are no different this summer, with the scouts of a number of England's clubs tasked with finding a bargain, with France's top-tier often providing the best value for money, and here we look at three midfielders from Ligue 1 that have attracted the interest of a number of suitors.

Idrissa Gueye (Lille)

Rumoured to be on the verge of a £9m move to Aston Villa, despite interest from both Southampton and Marseille, the consensus is that Lille's Idrissa Gueye has been lined up as a direct replacement for captain Fabian Delph. The England international is widely expected to move to Manchester City should Gueye's arrival be secured, with Tim Sherwood also needing to fill a void left by the culmination of Tom Cleverley's loan spell.

The Senegalese international is certainly a player more akin to Delph's style of play however, and has improved substantially in recent seasons to become one of Lille's prized assets. Indeed, of all players at the Ligue 1 outfit last season to make at least 15 appearances last season, the 25-year old secured the highest WhoScored rating at the club, with a score of 7.41 enough to rank 16th in France's top-tier.

Primarily a ball winner in his early days at Lille, Gueye has retained his impressive defensive work rate - winning 22 more tackles (100) than any other teammate - but, like Delph at Villa, played with more attacking freedom last season. Founder of French Football Weekly and Lille fan Andrew Gibney told WhoScored, "During his time at Lille, Gueye has developed from a defensive midfielder to a dynamic, physical and exciting box-to-box type player."

"In a difficult season he was definitely one of Les Dogues' standout performers, adding goals to his game (4 in the league) as his confidence continued to grow." On the fee reported, Gibney continued, "Lille were looking for around €15m at the start of the window, so this deal represents great value for Villa."

If Gueye's arrival does pave the way for Delph to leave the club then Villa fans will be gutted to see a fan favourite leave but, should the new arrival continue his impassive development, they may just have another on their hands.

N'Golo Kante (Caen)

One of the true breakthrough performers in France last season, there's little surprise that N'Golo Kante has attracted interest at home and abroad this summer. As with Gueye, Marseille were favourites to secure the midfielder’s signature but unlike Leicester, they have been unwilling to reach Caen's asking price.

Although the Foxes are managerless at present they are still looking to strengthen following the signings of Huth, Fuchs and Okazaki. With veteran Esteban Cambiasso's future uncertain having failed to renew his contract at the King Power Stadium, they may well need a dominating presence in midfield and have seemingly identified Kante as just that.

In what was a debut top-flight campaign, the 24-year old secured a WhoScored rating of 7.36 - comfortably the highest at newly-promoted Caen - with his style of play appealing to the Premier League outfit. French football journalist Jonathan Johnson told WhoScored, "Kante is a box-to-box midfielder, physical and combative, with an all-action style. He will be a loss for Ligue 1, especially as it looked as if he would stay in France with Marseille. However, the Premier League will suit him and I believe he will prove particularly adept at winning back possession for his team."

Johnson's opinion is certainly backed up by the stats. Indeed, across Europe's top 5 leagues last season Kante made at least 14 more tackles than any other player (176), whilst registering 5 assists and scoring twice. Any move to Leicester would certainly strengthen their bid to reassert their top-flight status.

Mario Lemina (Marseille)

Given their tendency to look to French talent in recent seasons Newcastle's forays in the transfer market look set to continue along the same trend despite a change of manager in Steve McLaren. The latest Ligue 1 youngster linked with a move to the North East is Marseille's Mario Lemina, though a reported bid in the region of €6m is believed to have been rejected.

The 21-year old only joined l'OM in 2013 from Lorient and made 23 appearances for Bielsa's side in 2014/15, though 10 of those came as a substitute. The youngster plays with impressive maturity and, despite favouring a position in defensive midfield, was also deployed at right-back on four occasions last season. Meanwhile, no Marseille player managed a tackle more often (every 27.3 minutes), with a pass accuracy of 90% enough to rank among the top 10 players in the entire division last term. 

After a hugely disappointing season last year it's clear that Newcastle need a makeover, yet they are still to make a signing so far this summer. If Lemina is indeed among their primary targets the club will need to loosen the purse strings for a player who cost Marseille €5m two years ago and will have only added to his value.

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