The Club is delighted to announce that it has reached an agreement with OGC Nice regarding the transfer of Maxime Le Marchand, subject to Premier League, FA, and international clearance. A versatile defender who can operate in the middle or at left-back,
This is a bit of a weird signing, unless it was part of the Seri deal. Le Marchand seems to be something of a Tim Ream clone as a left sided CB who can cover at LB (but probably not at a top level). This isn't the biggest issue, aside from the fact that left-sided CB is one of the few positions in the team with an established player!
Agreed. It makes sense if he's going to play left back, but not so much if he's more comfortable in the centre. My eldest reckons he's a centre back, whereas his Wikipedia write up makes him sound more like a full back. It'll be interesting to see how this one turns out.
I'm with your son Captain; he's a CB who is really comfortable on the ball and should fit well with the Gaffer's philosophy. Take the point though of him and Ream both being left sided, so guess we'll have to wait and see how Jokanovic lines things up - still have at this ingkling he might go 3 at the back this season. The best thing of all of course, is that he and Seri have been signed ahead of going off to the training camp - in France - next week. And blimey, it's not Bastille Day until 14th July !!
Having not heard of him before I searched the inter web and found a few French sources that were quite interesting, apparently he is a left footed centre back very comfortable on the ball but due to a team mates injury found himself playing left back for Nice last season (41 appearances) apparently playing very well but the reports suggest one of the reasons for him leaving is he doesn’t see himself as a left back and wants to play centre back!
