Two 18-year-old academy players – Sidiki Chérif and Prosper Peter – are scoring the goals Angers need to stay in Ligue 1
By Get French Football News
eprived of their top scorer from last season and unable to sign a replacement, Angers did not have a choice but to turn to two 18-year-old strikers from their academy. Sidiki Chérif and Prosper Peter have shown that it should have been the only choice.
The season started with a win for Angers, but it was a win that brought more fear than hope. Esteban Lepaul scored the only goal of the game as they beat Paris FC. The Frenchman had been a revelation in the second half of last season, as his nine goals ensured safety for Ligue 1’s second lowest scorers. But Rennes were circling and he was gone by the end of August.
Angers scrambled for a replacement and they seemed to have found him. Rémy Labeau-Lascary had already posed with the Angers shirt and trained with his new teammates when the DNCG, French football’s financial watchdog, pulled the plug on the deal. Angers were unable to increase their wage bill, so he returned to Lens before hastily heading out on loan to Brest. A move for Steve Mounié fell through for the same reason. Unable to sign players, they had to look to their academy. “We are obliged to develop players,” Angers’ assistant manager Lamine Mbaye tells us.
