Meet Johann Lepenant, France's newest Olympian!
One To Watch
A (somewhat) new face for France
With the recent announcement that former Stade Rennais midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu has left Thierry Henry's French Olympic squad comes the news that Olympique Lyonnais attackers Rayan Cherki and Alexandre Lacazette will be joined by a familiar face -- midfielder Johann Lepenant.
Born in Granville in Normandy, Lepenant came through the academy at SM Caen before joining Lyon in the summer of 2022. He has appeared many times for France's youth teams to date, including helping the U-17s finish in third place in the 2019 World Cup, and will no doubt view this opportunity with a measure of redemption.
After making more than fifty appearances for Caen, he played thirty times for Les Gones in his first season, but between a knee injury and the arrival of players like Orel Mangala and Nemanja Matic, he found playing time harder to come by under Pierre Sage. Henry has been unstinting in his praise of Lepenant, who has six caps for the U-21s, and a strong Olympic tournament could be ideal for the player as he seeks to reinsert himself into his manager's thinking in what will be a busy season for the club, marked by a return to European competition.
š¦š«š· Johann LepĆ©nant rejoint l'@EquipeFRA de @Paris2024 en tant que joueur remplaƧant š š !#Paris2024 #BleuCollectif pic.twitter.com/PmadcKHKbR
ā Ligue 1 McDonald's (@Ligue1) July 22, 2024
Henry's ambitious squad is "ready"
Speaking earlier to the press ahead of France's first match tomorrow, Henry also expressed his excitement for the level of the group as a whole, saying of their chances, "What I see in training, that's the way the squad gets along together. This is very important -- how the squad lives together off the pitch. It can also weigh on what can happen in the tournament. After that, the first game and the results make it maybe change. That's why I say I think we're ready. You always think you're ready. You always think you can win. I'm still being measured, but things are pretty good.ā
With France set to kick off their tournament tomorrow against the United States and with Lepenant once again in the fold, the hosts will be eager to put this to the test on the pitch in Marseille.
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