Top 5 Lyon academy graduates who are shining across Europe

Every football club has its own youth academy team in which various players of various age groups play and hope to one day join the senior team.

Top clubs start scouting such talents at a very tender age, for example, Lionel Messi was enrolled in the famous FC Barcelona's youth academy - La Masia - at age of 13, or for that matter, Barcelona's famous wonder kid Xavi Simmons who is already tipped to be a future superstar at the age of 13.

Clubs like Manchester City who are known to spend plenty of money on transfers are also keen on establishing a world-class youth academy which can ensure a healthy supply of fresh and young talents to feed the senior teams.

It is always a very proud moment for the academy when one of their graduates becomes a regular starter in the senior team. Keeping in mind the current transfer market inflation, investing in youth academies has become a priority these days for most of the football clubs.

The Lyon academy is one of the most decorated football academies all over the world. Over the years it has produced some world-class talents like Karim Benzema, Ludovic Guily and Frederic Kanoute.

Lyon academy graduates are regularly given a run in the first team, and they save a lot of money for the club and then, they are sold for hefty amounts, like Alexander Lacazzete to Arsenal for €53 million and Corentin Tolisso to Bayern Munich for €41.5 million.

This season, some of Lyon's academy graduates have been performing well for their respective current clubs, thus making their academy proud of them.

With that being said, here we look at 5 of the best:

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#5 Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal)

The Lyon academy product was bought by Arsene Wenger in the summer of 2017 for a club record fee of €53 million, which has now been broken by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who joined Arsenal in the winter transfer window of 2018 for £56 million.

Lacazette started his Arsenal career with a record-breaking stat after he scored in first three home games of the season and became the first player to do so in the Premier Leauge era for the Gunners.

Also, at the start of the season, there were selection issues with him as well and it has been pointed out that when Lacazette started a game with Sanchez and Ozil, Arsenal lost only once. Without Sanchez and Ozil it becomes difficult for Lacazette to express himself.

Though he may not be shining as much as was expected of him, he has still managed to score 11 goals and provide 3 assists midway through the season.

It should also be considered that Lacazette came from Ligue 1 and it is difficult for players to settle in the Premier Leauge. Arsenal legend Thiery Herny in his analysis described that Arsenal style of play does not properly suit the Frenchman, but it is only a matter of time that he starts scoring goals.

Arsenal are still participating in 4 competitions, the Europa Leauge, Premier Leauge, Carabao Cup and the FA Cup and he can easily reach 20 goals for this season.

Also now he will have Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and Mesut Ozil to supply him with quality balls to finish.

#4 Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich)

In the summer of 2017, Bayern Munich broke their transfer record to bring in the 22-year-old Lyon youth academy product to the Allianz Arena.

With Arturo Vidal in his 30's and Xabi Alonso retiring, Bayern needed midfield reinforcements and the Bavarian giants splashed €41.5 million for the Frenchmen and he became the most expensive player in the Bundesliga history.

He joined Lyon as a 13-year-old teenager and represented them at various youth levels before he made his debut for Les Gones in 2013. Since then, he hasn't looked back and has improved his game season by season.

He mainly operates from deep as a central midfielder and makes runs near the box to score goals from the midfield. Last season he scored 14 goals for Lyon from midfield.

This season he has already impressed with his 89% pass accuracy and he has scored 5 goals and 3 assists for Bayern Munich in all competitions including an impressive double against Paris Saint Germain in the Champions Leauge and scored the only goal away against Hamburg.

Many have hailed him as Bayern Munich's big game player who delivers in big games and he is just 23 years old. The Bayern hierarchy view him as crucial to their future plans and want to build a team with him anchoring the midfield.

He has settled very well in the Bundesliga and looks like a quality long-term investment for the German giants.

#3 Anthony Martial (Manchester United)

In the summer of 2015, Manchester United bought Anthony Martial from Monaco for £36 million, potentially rising to £58 million and he was the most expensive teenager signing for a football club.

Since his move to Manchester United, he has impressed a lot and he had a memorable debut when he scored against Manchester United's arch-rivals Liverpool.

He started his footballing career at the age of 14 in 2009, with the Lyon academy. He made his debut for the French giants in 2013 against Hapoel Ironi in the Europa Leauge.

The speedy winger has already won an FA Cup, Carabao Cup, Europa Leauge and Community Shield with the Red Devils.

In his first season at Manchester United, he also won individual honours, he was awarded the Golden Boy as Europe's best under-21 player and he was also the club's top scorer in his first season.

This season as well Martial has performed very well. His strike rate is a goal every 121 minutes. He has scored 11 goals this season scoring some crucial goals against Everton, Swansea, Watford, and Tottenham at Old Trafford.

At age of 22, he is the youngest player among the top 10 goalscorers in Premier Leauge and only Paul Pogba has created more chances for Manchester United this season per 90 minutes.

These stats clearly represent how good Martial is and it should also be considered that he is yet to reach his peak in the footballing world. Clearly, he is the future of Machester United and seems like a player who is likely to be good value for the money Manchester United spent on him.

#2 Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona)

Samuel Umtiti began his football career with Lyon in 2012 and made 170 appearances for Les Gones before signing for FC Barcelona for €25 million in the summer of 2016.

Since his move to the Catalan giants, Umiti has established himself as one of the best centre-backs in Europe and he is also a pivotal member of the French national team backline.

The Frenchman has started this season in excellent form and he has proved to be crucial in keeping Barcelona's unbeaten run intact in La Liga this season.

The 24-year-old defender is a powerhouse and makes his presence felt on the pitch. This season his quality performances have prompted to suggest that Samuel Umtiti might be the best central defender in La Liga.

He does impose his physicality on his opponents but he is definitely not a dirty player and his passing rate of 92% is one of his biggest assets which makes him so vital to Barcelona's style of play.

It can be very easily said that he is a complete defender and the only area he needs to work on is his goal scoring ability from set pieces.

His importance to FC Barcelona can be understood from the fact that the Catalan giants are prioritizing his contract renewal as his current contract has a release clause of €60 million, which has alerted the Manchester clubs to make a move for him.

It has been understood that €60 million in the current inflated market would be very cheap for a young player like Umtiti who at the age of 24 is yet to reach his peak.

Umiti represents FC Barcelona's future and it is likely that they will form their backline around him in near future.

#1 Nabil Fekir (Lyon)

The Lyon captain has been in scintillating form this season, and as a result, he has been linked with many top clubs around Europe. He is a Lyon academy graduate and he joined the first team in 2013.

In his second year, he became a regular for the senior team and he was named as Ligue 1 Young Player of the year.

At the age of 24, he is the captain of a young Lyon team and many have argued that he is even more valuable than Neymar as he can garner the support of superstars like Mbappé, Cavani, Thiago Silva, and Di Maria. But Fekir has to carry this young Lyon side on his own.

The Lyon captain has already scored 19 goals this season from 27 appearances and his strongest attribute is his versatility.

He has played in various positions as a central midfielder, winger and even a false 9 at times.He is very much a complete attacker and since the time he has been made captain he has added even more consistency to his game.

Fekir is an excellent dribbler and he is also not shy in big games, he scored crucial goals for Lyon this season against some big teams. He scored from freekicks against PSG and Marseille. He scored the winner against Monaco in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

It is no wonder that he has been constantly linked with the likes of Arsenal, Barcelona, and Liverpool. But it crystal clear that any club trying to sign him from Lyon will have to pay a huge sum as he is likely to command a huge transfer fee.