Dino Toppmöller on his appointment at Lens: “My little Eintracht Frankfurt.”

Dino Toppmöller on his appointment at Lens: “My little Eintracht Frankfurt.” New RC Lens head coach Dino Toppmöller believes his work developing valuable young players at Eintracht Frankfurt helped convince the Ligue 1 club to appoint him. The 45-year-old has taken over from Pierre Sage, who departed Lens for Crystal Palace after guiding the northern French club to second place in Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France title. Toppmöller has already defended his Eintracht Frankfurt record following the defensive collapse that preceded his January dismissal. The former Bayern Munich assistant nevertheless also believes his Frankfurt tenure demonstrated his ability to improve young players and generate significant transfer income. Lens operate with fewer financial resources than Frankfurt, particularly amid the continuing French television-rights crisis. Toppmöller consequently expects player recruitment and development to assume even greater importance in his new position. “Lens is a little like Eintracht Frankfurt, only with fewer resources because the television-rights crisis has affected all Ligue 1 clubs,” Toppmöller told L’Équipe . “It is a great club, but it doesn’t have the resources it deserves. That forces us to be quicker in scouting because we cannot convince players with money.” Toppmöller points to profitable Frankfurt development Toppmöller believes Lens may have been particularly impressed by Frankfurt’s ability to develop players before selling them for substantial profits. Willian Pacho joined Paris Saint-Germain in a deal potentially worth €45m after only one season in Germany. Omar Marmoush subsequently moved to Manchester City for €75m midway through Toppmöller’s second campaign. Hugo Ekitiké followed during the summer of 2025. The French striker pushed to complete a move to Liverpool after developing into one of the Bundesliga’s leading forwards under Toppmöller. Frankfurt ultimately secured a package potentially worth €90m. “I want to win, but the most important thing is the development of the player,” Toppmöller said. “If he improves, the team improves as well. If the coach has the courage to give young players playing time, they develop and we can sell them later.” Toppmöller also highlighted the development of Nathaniel Brown and Nnamdi Collins. Brown progressed from a peripheral figure into a first-team regular, earned a new Frankfurt contract and later became a German senior international. Collins also developed rapidly under Toppmöller. Frankfurt publicly celebrated the defender’s progress before the former Borussia Dortmund prospect received his first senior Germany call-up. “This was also my project in Frankfurt, and it is the same in Lens,” Toppmöller said. Perhaps that is why they said, ‘We want coach Dino.’ They saw the sales of Pacho, Ekitiké and Marmoush, and that Nene Brown became a senior international under me, followed by Nnamdi Collins.” Toppmöller now hopes to combine that development model with the intense pressing and counter-pressing football he continues to demand from his teams. GGFN  |  Peter Weis