Why Arsenal, Juventus and more are watching Lorient – the stunning partnership of Kevin Gameiro and Morgan Amalfitano

COMMENT
By Robin Bairner

The names of Morgan Amalfitano and Kevin Gameiro would not immediately spring to mind when considering European football’s most dynamic attacking partnerships but the Lorient duo have been lighting up Ligue 1 all season long.

Statistics published earlier this week in France Football tell their own story. Mesut Ozil has made 11 assists for Cristiano Ronaldo this season, the most that any single player has set up for one specific team-mate. Following hot on the Real Madrid pair’s heels are Barcelona duo Lionel Messi and David Villa – the Argentine having fed his Spanish counterpart seven times – but directly behind these two partnerships for the ages are Amalfitano and Gameiro.

In this combination, it’s Amalfitano who plays the role of Ozil – the astute No.10 – and it’s Gameiro who tends to capture the headlines as the goalscorer. The 24-year-old is a fully fledged France international and will command a fee that could run into eight figures this summer.

“I have the same style as David Villa; small and mobile, capable of playing deep without being selfish,” the 5ft 7in attacker explained to the media back in March, summing up the kind of contribution that fans of his destination club – whoever that may be – can expect from him.

And the attacker is not being big-headed by comparing himself to the Barca goal-getter. Of similar build to Villa, Gameiro provides the all-round input that ‘El Guaje’ has built his career upon.

EUROPE’S TOP THREE COMBINATIONS
Players (scorer second) Ozil to Ronaldo Messi to Villa Amalfitano to Gameiro	Assists 11 8 7

Fittingly, it’s Valencia, a former club of the Spain international striker, who are one of the sides hottest on his trail, though there have also been reports that Villarreal and Sevilla, two of the other top clubs in the Primera Division, are interested in his services too. From England, Arsenal and Tottenham are amongst those reputed to be taking note.

Though still with Lorient, Gameiro is now a name known around Europe, if not by face, at least by reputation. On the other hand, Amalfitano is a player largely unknown outside France, yet he has the potential to be a real gem of an acquisition.

Available on a free transfer, creative midfielder Amalfitano has already announced his decision to leave the Breton port town in the summer, with Juventus, and more recently the Gunners and Aston Villa, linked with his signing.

Able to operate as a genuine playmaker, on the right flank or even in a front two, the 26-year-old’s play this season has been marked with great intelligence and some wonderful technique. While goals have flown on a steady basis, so too have the assists, and it is the perceptive distribution of the Nice-born player that allows him to stand out in a Lorient side adept at playing quick passing football of a kind unrivalled in France.

The dynamo of les Merlus, he is a player who has flourished relatively late in his career. Already in his mid-20s, it’s only been in the last couple of campaigns that the Cannes youth, who has never played for his country at any level, really captured some deserved critical acclaim.

Although his form has been irreproachable over the last 12 months, Amalfitano’s signature would still be seen as something of a gamble by a top European side simply because he has yet to prove himself either on the continent or with les Bleus. With a forward on his wavelength like Gameiro, Lorient’s prompter looks like a star in the making, but he’s yet to make such a meaningful transition in his career, and the step to another league will simply mean the jump to a bigger club will be made all the greater.

Even though many of the clubs linked with one of these players have been linked with the other – testament to the implicit understanding between the two – the likelihood is that they will be separated this summer, and it is a move that will require careful consideration as this switch will either make or break their respective careers.

Though the split is just around the corner, both Amalfitano and Gameiro will feel they owe something of a debt to Lorient, who have acted as a terrific springboard. As the last three games of the French season loom, they can still pay Christian Gourcuff’s amiable side back to some extent by reaching the Europa League.

In order to achieve this goal, Marseille will likely have to be overcome on Sunday, but having gone unbeaten at the Stade du Moustoir since September, the two stars of the Breton club would be justified in going into the match confident of unseating the defending champions, claiming one last great scalp before moving on to bigger and hopefully better things.