Odsonne Édouard ended his four-year spell at Crystal Palace when he joined RC Lens on summer deadline day.
The striker had no future at Crystal Palace under Oliver Glasner and spent last season on loan at Leicester City. He made one appearance for Crystal Palace this season before leaving them permanently for the Ligue 1 side.
L’Equipe have a report on the French club’s summer signings. Lens sporting director Jean-Louis Leca has reduced their wage bill from €40m gross to €28m this season.
The director, who arrived at the club in June, focused on carrying out relatively cheap signings and it seems to have worked out. They are currently leading the table, a point ahead of second placed Paris Saint-Germain.
Lens took Édouard from Crystal Palace and the newspaper provides an insight into the work done to secure his services.
Their manager, Pierre Sage, had recommended Leca to sign him. Sage is said to have met with the player in Paris, months before his arrival.
Lens’ plan was to sign Auxerre’s Lassine Sinayoko but weren’t successful, this saw them shift their focus to Édouard.
According to L’Equipe, Crystal Palace sold him for a ‘very affordable price’ of €3.7m. Édouard also took a ‘significant’ pay cut to join Lens.
He scored his first goal for Lens in their 2-1 win over Auxerre in October. The former Crystal Palace man now has five goals and two assists from 11 league games.
