Matthieu Udol: Living Large at Lens
After a pair of assists at the weekend, Matthieu Udol's form for RC Lens has been increasingly catching the eye -- learn more about the veteran left back in our latest One to Watch.
Metz through and through
Our "One To Watch" series has been one of the best at profiling the young up-and-coming talents that populate Ligue 1 McDonald's, but every now and then, an unheralded veteran catches the eye on the way to becoming one of the division's top performers. Players like Téji Savanier, Pierre Lees-Melou and Jonathan Clauss all took winding roads to become some of the division's best players, and Matthieu Udol could be on the verge of doing the same if his play since joining RC Lens this summer is anything by which to judge.
Born in Metz, Udol spent more than a dozen years with Les Grenats, suffering several relegations and promotions (to say nothing of several serious knee injuries), but always carrying himself well on and off the pitch. He even served as captain of late, but he leapt at the chance to join a club that was better-established in the top flight, having wholly impressed with six goals and eight assists from left back last season.
2 assists from Matthieu Udol, 2 goals from Odsonne Édouard 🇫🇷🔗 pic.twitter.com/7cjMtqJ0PR
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) December 15, 2025
Reborn at Lens; a place for France?
The idea of the dynamic, attacking fullback has been a staple of Lens' resurgence since their promotion. Clauss played his way into the French national team under Franck Haise, and Przemysław Frankowski was similarly a force with which to be reckoned. Hence, Udol made the perfect fit, having offered not only this kind of leather-lunged play but an estimable presence in the dressing room as captain. Play for Lens under Pierre Sage is more restrained than it was under Haise, but that's hardly stopped Udol from showing his gifts, as he's gone joint-top of the assists chart with five as we head into the winter break.
But it's more than just assists that have people talking about him -- he's even been mentioned as a credible option for Les Bleus, as one of Europe's best creative players, and no player in Ligue 1 McDonald's has made more ball recoveries than him. While it may seem far-fetched given his lack of even European experience, it's also true that both Clauss and Brice Samba (who was with Le Sang et Or when he received his first call-up), were relative late bloomers. Clauss was 30 and Samba 28 at the time of their first call-ups.
Indeed, Udol himself has hardly been dismissive of the idea, especially given Lens' collective play, recently telling Ligue 1 Plus: "The fact that the collective's season and my individual season have bee good, it gives me this idea. If the club has a very good season, we finish very high in the table and I continue to perform, it can come to the idea of thinking about the French team."
With just six months to go until the World Cup, Udol's ascent will have to continue to be meteoric, but following on from his play this season, one wouldn't be surprised to see him get a look at the next window in March.
