FEATURE | Mezian Mesloub – Lens’ star in the making

FEATURE | Mezian Mesloub – Lens’ star in the making RC Lens are no strangers to departures. And this summer was no exception, as they let Mamadou Sangaré, Adrien Thomasson, Malang Sarr, Wesley Saïd, and Allan Saint-Maximin leave their Coupe de France-winning squad. However, amid the wave of big-name exits, there was one player they were desperate to hold on to. A player who had experienced just 11 minutes of first-team football and had yet to sign a professional contract. A 16-year-old by the name of Mezian Mesloub.  It was no exaggeration to say that tying Mesloub’s future to Les Lensois ’s colours was the priority for the club over the summer. He was considered the crown jewel of a productive academy, and there was reportedly no shortage of interest from big European clubs in trying to steal him away from his boyhood team. Benfica, for instance, was one that was heavily linked. Perhaps they hoped the appeal of living in Portugal would speak to a player who has chosen to represent the nation as a youth international.  Europe takes notice of Mezian Mesloub If Benfica could offer more glamorous pastures, Lens could offer something more tangible. They didn’t see Mesloub as one for the future, but as someone who could make an immediate impact on the team. A point that was only underlined last season when he scored the winner against FC Nantes, a mere five seconds into his debut. With Lens returning to the UEFA Champions League, a competition that Mesloub’s debut goal confirmed their place within, there was also the chance for the teenager to showcase his talents on the grandest stage.  And it was this vision for Mesloub from his boyhood club that won out. He was involved in the club’s preseason plans, progress which was then carried into the start of the season under head coach Dino Toppmöller. He was given a chance to cut his teeth as a substitute in Ligue 1 with a brief cameo against RC Strasbourg Alsace and 45 minutes against Le Mans, but it was in Europe that he put in a performance that caught the eye and showed a glimpse of the player Lens believe he’ll soon become.  Portugal, France, or Algeria? He was thrown on in the second half of the 3-2 win over Slavia Praha and was one of the key impetuses behind the team’s late comeback. He was like quicksilver in possession, with the red and white shirts finding it hard to figure out where the ball was going to move next. For a player of his age, he had a preternatural understanding of where his teammates were going to be, and his reward was his first career assist.  Toppmöller’s shock sacking would do little to stem Mesloub’s involvement in the first team. Quite the opposite, Toppmöller’s replacement Yannick Cahuzac would hand the 16-year-old his first ever start for Lens in the 2-1 defeat to AS Monaco just before the September/October international break. In the break, Mesloub would be jettisoned into the Portugal U21s, with the federation perhaps keen to make strides against Algeria and France (both of whom could call on the teenager). Already, what happened in the summer feels as if it could be the prelude to a wider battle over the international allegiance of a star in the making.  GFFN | Nick Hartland