Player Analysis: Ludovic Blas

Over the past five years, perhaps no country has produced more elite footballing prospects than France. Yet despite this unparalleled rate in talent production, France have often struggled in youth tournaments, underachieving despite frequently bringing stacked squads with plenty of senior minutes under their belts.

Their players aren’t as reliant on a youth tournament to attract the spotlight as players in South Korea, Ukraine, or Venezuela, all of which have excelled in recent youth tournaments. Nonetheless, there have been exceptions. France claimed the European U-19 Championship in 2016, defeating Croatia, Netherlands and Portugal in the process, and trouncing Italy 4-0 in the Final.

Several of those players on that Les Bleuets side, such as Kylian Mbappé and Marcus Thuram, have already begun to fulfill their enormous potential, emerging into some of Europe’s finest young talents. One of those players is Ludovic Blas, who, at 23 years of age, is finally making a name for himself on the world scene.

Blas began his professional career at Guingamp, becoming both the youngest player to debut for the club in Ligue 1 and to score for them. Having gained the trust of manager Jocelyn Gourvennec, he was given the start in the Derby de la Bretagne, and thrived as Guingamp trounced Rennes 3-0. However, it wasn’t until the U-19 Euros that Blas put his talent on display for all of Europe to marvel at.