Ismaëlo Ganiou: Lens' latest defensive discovery

 RC Lens's run to the top of the table has been helped by the contributions of both veterans and youngsters -- our latest One To Watch is a profile of defender Ismaëlo Ganiou.

Part of a long tradition

RC Lens have made something of a habit of developing top-end defenders of late. Kevin Danso and Abdukodir Khusanov recently made the leap to the Premier League, while summer signing Samson Baidoo is one of the division's top prospects. Historically, too, players like Raphaël Varane and Hilton made their names in the north of France, despite the French international's early departure to Madrid. 

Now, with Lens flying atop Ligue 1 McDonald's, a new homegrown star might be in the making in the form of Ismaëlo Ganiou. Born in Lille to parents from Burkina Faso, the 20-year-old central defender joined Lens' academy at age ten and left a year ago to sign with Italian side Padova. After immediately being loaned back to France, where he impressed with Annency in Ligue 2, he returned to Le Sang et Or this summer on a two-year deal, having already earned his first international cap in a June friendly for Burkina Faso against Zimbabwe.

20 years old. 💎
Remember the name. ✨
Ismaëlo Ganiou. 🇧🇫 pic.twitter.com/XGcRKsXcrv

— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) January 2, 2026

A red card in his first start...

While Ganiou's senior debut for Lens earlier this season was less than auspicious, as he was sent off in a nervy win against Auxerre in October, since then he has gone from strength to strength, first stepping back into the side against RC Strasbourg in late November. Against the always-dangerous Alsatians, he turned in a man-of-the-match display, not only displaying a fine range of passing but scoring the game's only goal, celebrating with a classy tribute to Marc-Vivien Foé. 

He had started that game in the absence of Jonathan Gradit, who was suspended, and has more recently been injured, but Ganiou has kept his place, and Lens have kept winning. Indeed, Le Sang et Or have picked up three points in all six of Ganiou's starts to date and he was among the goals again at the weekend against Toulouse, scoring the match's final goal and making more clearances and winning more aerial duels than any other player in the match. 

...but a growing sense of maturity

Speaking post-match on Friday, Lens manager Pierre Sage was effusive in his praise of Ganiou handling not only the pressure of being a young player but of the team's status as a legitimate title contender, saying, “He represents quite well the good performance of the team at present. And his personal progress is of high quality. He is managing matches much better. He is also improving in his use of the ball, which will be an important element given our status and how our opponents will approach their matches.”

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