Lille in the hunt to sign Premier League target Bradley Locko | OneFootball

Despite Ismaily’s recent contract renewal until 2025, Lille OSC are still expecting to dip into the left-back market and have inquired about the availability of Stade Brestois’ Bradley Locko (24).

In a season that will go down in history, Brest clinched European football for the first time ever, courtesy of their third-place finish in Ligue 1. Despite their qualification for the UEFA Champions League group stages, les Ty Zéfs are expected to face a huge squad overhaul amidst the interest from bigger clubs for their standout players.

Named Ligue 1’s best left-back, Locko is attracting interest from Lille, according to a report from L’Équipe. Brest are not expected to stand in the way of the France U23 international, who arrived for a nominal fee of €500K from Stade de Reims last summer. The Finistère based club are now expecting a staggering €15M from the sale of Locko.

With Bruno Genesio’s recent nomination as Lille’s new head coach to replace Paulo Fonseca, Les Dogues are expecting to start their business quite early in the transfer window in order to have the squad ready for the UEFA Champions League preliminary rounds. However, they may face fierce competition for the promising left-back who was attracting interest from West Ham United last winter, while fellow Premier League outfit Nottingham Forest has also included Locko’s name on their shortlist.

GFFN l Grégoire Devaux