Castello Lukeba was the revelation of the 2021-22 season for Olympique Lyonnais. His sudden emergence from the academy was a rare bright spot in an otherwise underwhelming campaign for the club. He began the season as an unknown eighteen year old without a single first team appearance to his name, but impressed in pre-season friendlies …
Tag archives: Defender
Malo Gusto
Malo Gusto is an energetic right-back who came through the youth team ranks at Lyon’s academy and broke into the first team squad in early 2021, aged just seventeen. His debut came as a late substitute in an emphatic 5-0 derby win away at arch-rivals Saint-Etienne under manager Rudi Garcia. He was to make one …
Henrique Silva Milagres
Henrique is a Brazilian left-back, who signed for Olympique Lyonnais in summer 2021, aged 27. He arrived on a free transfer from Vasco da Gama, in his native Rio de Janeiro, with whom he had spent his entire career since joining them as a schoolboy. He signed a three year contract with Lyon, tying him …
Djamel Benlamri
Algerian international centre-back Djamel Benlamri joined Olympique Lyonnais at the end of the summer 2020 transfer window as a free agent, having bought out the final nine months of his contract with Al-Shabab in Saudi Arabia. He was recruited primarily to provide cover for first choice central defensive partnership Jason Denayer and Marcelo, after Joachim …
Mattia De Sciglio
Mattia De Sciglio is an experienced Italian international fullback who joined Olympique Lyonnais on loan from Juventus for the 2020-21 season. He made his Lyon debut as a 73rd minute substitute in the 3-2 away win at Strasbourg on the 18th of October 2020. He was brought in just before the summer transfer window closed …
Sinaly Diomandé
When Sinaly Diomandé was signed by Olympique Lyonnais for around half a million Euros from Guidars FC in the Ivory Coast in September 2019 it was with a view to the future. The then eighteen year old defender initially went into the reserve team squad playing in the National 2 division in order to gain …
Melvin Bard
Melvin Bard is a left-back who graduated from the Lyon academy to make his first team debut in December 2019 aged nineteen, coming on as a half-time replacement for Rafael in a 4-0 win at Nîmes. It was to be his only appearance that season, as he spent most of the campaign with the reserves …
Marcelo
Marcelo Antônio Guedes Filho is a tall, solid, Brazilian centre-back who arrived at Lyon in July 2017 aged 30, having spent the previous decade traversing Europe with spells at major clubs in Poland, the Netherlands, Germany and Turkey, picking up several major trophies along the way. Following in the footsteps of a long line of …
Léo Dubois
Léo Dubois has been the first choice right-back or right-wing-back at Lyon since his arrival on a free transfer from Nantes in summer 2018. He’s an accomplished all-rounder, as good going forward as he is defensively, and has been one of the club’s most consistent performers over the past two seasons. His crossing ability from …
Jason Denayer
Defender Jason Denayer moved from junior football at an academy in his native Belgium to join Manchester City’s setup aged 18 in 2013. He impressed during his first season in the youth team at City, but would never go on to make a first team appearance for the club. Instead he was farmed out on …