And one more… In the wake of Antoine Griezmann or even Aymeric Laporte, Robin Le Normand found his El Dorado on the other side of the Pyrenees. Because yes, more and more of them are launching their careers in Spain when it seems blocked in France, as Clément Lenglet (Sevilla FC), or Raphaël Varane (Real Madrid) have also done in the past. And Spain wins by finding nuggets that Ligue 1 does not always manage to shine. Like Aymeric Laporte who joined La Roja in 2021, Le Normand will also play for the Spanish selection in the future. The player has given his consent and the administrative procedures have been launched, even if he has never played for France or Spain.
If Didier Deschamps seriously considered a summons from the 26-year-old left-handed defender, the player made a decision contrary to a future in Blue. At first glance, his choice seems surprising, but you have to see it as a form of thanks to a country that allowed him to reach the top level and gave him a chance to realize his dream. “My non-convocation for the 2022 World Cup was hard. Especially after Presnel Kimpembe’s injury. Of course I thought about it because I was coming out of a season where I had done things well, ”he explained last February.
Unlike Aymeric Laporte, it was not in Bilbao that he found his happiness, but less than eighty kilometers away, in San Sebastian. However, he will find his counterpart in selection, since the naturalization process is underway for the one who gave his consent to Luis de la Fuente. If Laporte was naturalized in 2021, he was able to play the Euro the same year with La Roja, as well as the World Cup in 2022.
The new coach of Spain has understood that the site in central defense could move forward drastically with the presence of a new French in its ranks. We saw it in Qatar when Luis Enrique decided to align Rodri (midfielder) as a central hinge.
Quickly making himself indispensable in the Basque defense since his arrival (with the A’s) in 2019, Robin Le Normand has become a real part of the team, under the leadership of Imanol Alguacil. A manager in a team that was playing the Europa League a month ago, while Brest let him go freely in 2016. Trained in Brittany where he grew up, Le Normand arrived in the Basque Country in 2016 within the reserve of Real Sociedad before climbing the ladder.
This season, the one whose brother plays at Guingamp (Théo Le Normand), has started twenty-four times in twenty-six league matches, after a 2021/2022 exercise where he started thirty-seven days in La Liga and where he was the player in his squad who played the most minutes (3,330). To top it off, in 2021, he won the King’s Cup and experienced the joys of an individual trophy rewarding his efforts, being voted La Liga’s best player in October of the same year. Performances that have not gone unnoticed at Arsenal where he is closely observed, according to the Daily Mail.
There is no doubt that his return is eagerly awaited on the side of Real (4th) who are playing their qualification in the Champions League this Tuesday (10:00 p.m.), at the Estadio Benito Villamarin against Bétis (5th), after serving a match of suspension against Rayo Vallecano last weekend. With a six-point lead eight days from the end, the Basques intend to eliminate the Andalusians from the race for the Champions League and spoil the party in the middle of the “Feria” in Seville.