Nabil Bentaleb

Defensive Midfielder - LOSC Lille
21 Nov 2027
Sunday
Process
68 Edition

The LOSC Lille Herald

15 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

LOSC Lille see off AJ Auxerre

Three points for LOSC Lille, 2-1 the final word against AJ Auxerre in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Nabil Bentaleb

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Matías Fernández-Pardo asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Squad

Hákon Arnar Haraldsson is off the mark for LOSC Lille

The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.

Squad

Bradley Barcola called up by his country

A window away with the national side, and a shirt at LOSC Lille that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.

Market

The Ngal'Ayel Mukau talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. LOSC Lille know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Loan watch

Tiago Morais wants to stay at Trapani

“I am playing every week here and I feel like a footballer again.” 12 appearances and 1 goals on loan, and a decision waiting in the summer.

Loan watch

1 goals on loan for Tiago Morais

12 appearances at Trapani and the goals keep coming. LOSC Lille are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

The terraces

The press have found their man in Hákon Arnar Haraldsson

Column inches are not points, but a footballer whose name keeps appearing for the right reasons is a footballer whose price has just gone up.

In brief

Back issues
67 Edition

The LOSC Lille Herald

8 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Tomás Marchiori hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what LOSC Lille can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tomás Marchiori: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” LOSC Lille have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Match

No end in sight to LOSC Lille's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at LOSC Lille has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Bradley Barcola gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Match

A bad afternoon for LOSC Lille against Sporting CP

1-2 to Sporting CP, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Osame Sahraoui is carrying LOSC Lille

4 goals and a season average of 7.50. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Loan watch

11 goals on loan for Marius Broholm

14 appearances at Valenciennes and the goals keep coming. LOSC Lille are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

Match

LOSC Lille share the spoils with Olympique Lyonnais

A 3-3 draw with Olympique Lyonnais leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Squad

Nabil Bentaleb left out for the big one

A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Nabil Bentaleb will call it something else in private.

In brief

66 Edition

The LOSC Lille Herald

1 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Nabil Bentaleb: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” LOSC Lille have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Matías Fernández-Pardo gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Match

Paris FC take the points off LOSC Lille

Beaten 0-1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

LOSC Lille lose Corentin Flament

49 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Boardroom

Nobody left the LOSC Lille dressing room in a hurry

The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.

Squad

Costly mistake from Berke Özer

An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Berke Özer knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.

In brief

65 Edition

The LOSC Lille Herald

25 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Sporting CP take the points off LOSC Lille

Beaten 0-2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Osame Sahraoui is carrying LOSC Lille

3 goals and a season average of 7.41. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Squad

No place for Benjamin André on the big day

He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at LOSC Lille pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.

Match

Honours even between LOSC Lille and RC Lens

1-1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

The terraces

Everybody has an opinion about Berke Özer

He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.

Loan watch

Marius Broholm keeps scoring at Valenciennes

12 appearances away from home and 8 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.

In brief

60 Edition

The LOSC Lille Herald

20 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

LOSC Lille through in the cup

A 4-1 win over Bourg-Peronnas, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Berke Özer

There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

LOSC Lille lose Nabil Bentaleb

42 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Ngal'Ayel Mukau signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ngal'Ayel Mukau commits to LOSC Lille for another 5 years.

Match

Still nobody has beaten LOSC Lille

The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Osame Sahraoui

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Match

LOSC Lille get the job done against Lech

A 2-1 win over Lech, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Match

Honours even between LOSC Lille and Le Havre AC

3-3, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

Loan watch

Soriba Diaoune wants to come home

“I did not go to Preston to sit and watch. I want to come back to LOSC Lille and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.

In brief

54 Edition

The LOSC Lille Herald

9 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

LOSC Lille up to position 1

70 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.

Market

another club watching Mattéo Guendouzi

The interest is real enough to have reached print. LOSC Lille have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Market

Aïssa Mandi moves on

Nimes pay $430.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.

Squad

Chancel Mbemba signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Chancel Mbemba commits to LOSC Lille for another 2 years.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Ngal'Ayel Mukau

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Market

US Creteil are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. LOSC Lille will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Squad

Berke Özer asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

The terraces

The spotlight tightens on Mattéo Guendouzi

Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.

Market

The Romain Perraud talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. LOSC Lille know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

48 Edition

The LOSC Lille Herald

28 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

LOSC Lille turn down Ajax for Hamza Igamane

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Market

LOSC Lille sign Orel Mangala for $5.5M

The paperwork is done: Orel Mangala joins from Olympique Lyonnais in a deal worth $5.5M. Now comes the harder part.

Market

Aïssa Mandi asks to leave LOSC Lille

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Stade Lavallois watching Nathan Ngoy

The interest is real enough to have reached print. LOSC Lille have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Squad

Tomás Marchiori out for 20 days

The medical room confirms 20 days on the sidelines for Tomás Marchiori, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Musa Al-Tamari knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at LOSC Lille, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

36 Edition

The LOSC Lille Herald

5 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Osame Sahraoui is carrying LOSC Lille

10 goals and a season average of 7.73. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Match

LOSC Lille cannot stop winning

3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.

Match

LOSC Lille get the job done against FC Lorient

A 2-1 win over FC Lorient, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

In brief

15 Edition

The LOSC Lille Herald

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

13 unbeaten for LOSC Lille

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 13 matches without defeat is a foundation LOSC Lille did not have in the autumn.

Market

Hamza Igamane wants to know where this is going

“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at LOSC Lille hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.

Squad

Hamza Igamane stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Hamza Igamane and LOSC Lille agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

In brief

8 Edition

The LOSC Lille Herald

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Match

LOSC Lille march on in the cup

Stade Lavallois are out and LOSC Lille go through, 2-1 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

Match

LOSC Lille make it 6 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now LOSC Lille have 6 straight wins of it.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Thomas Sajous

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Match

LOSC Lille find a way past Le Havre AC

Le Havre AC made LOSC Lille work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

Shina Ayodele stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Shina Ayodele and LOSC Lille agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Gaëtan Perrin gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Nabil Bentaleb asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Market

Ngal'Ayel Mukau linked with a move away

The name of Ngal'Ayel Mukau keeps appearing in other people's back pages. LOSC Lille say nothing, which says plenty.

Loan watch

0 goals on loan for Ichem Ferrah

6 appearances at Cambuur and the goals keep coming. LOSC Lille are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

In brief

7 Edition

The LOSC Lille Herald

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Thomas Sajous

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Match

LOSC Lille cannot stop winning

4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.

Match

LOSC Lille see off OGC Nice

Three points for LOSC Lille, 4-2 the final word against OGC Nice in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Nabil Bentaleb

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Félix Correia finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. LOSC Lille have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

Squad

Gaëtan Perrin knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at LOSC Lille, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief