One profile, and only one, since July
Jean-Louis Leca has been hunting the same thing for two months. A left-footed centre-back. Nothing else will do. The Armando Obispo deal collapsed early in the summer and the hole never got filled.
Foot Mercato now put RC Lens on Nathan Zeze. He is 21, 1.90m, a Nantes academy product currently at Neom. On paper he ticks every box the Sang et Or drew up.
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The Saudi gamble that nobody laughs at now
Summer 2025. Zeze left FC Nantes for Saudi Arabia in a 20 million euro deal, aged 20. The verdict was quick and unkind: a kid chasing a payday.
Twelve months later the pitch has answered. More than 35 appearances across all competitions, a locked-in starting spot, and one of the best individual ratings in the Saudi league.
His France Under-21 place survived the move too. Eight caps, three goals under Gerald Baticle, with Les Bleuets sitting top of their Euro qualifying group.
Neom need to sell before they can spend
An eighth-place finish left the Saudi club needing sales to fund arrivals. Which is why the door has not shut. A loan and a permanent deal are both still live.
Lens are not the only ones circling. Bologna have asked the question in recent days. Eintracht Frankfurt have too, running the file alongside their interest in Lilian Brassier. Zeze’s contract runs to June 2030, so nobody is getting a discount.
Money is the sticking point in Artois. The board will keep alternatives warm rather than bet everything on a deal that is far from done.
Eight days from the deadline, where Zeze plays in September is anyone’s guess.
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