July 27, 2025
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Zapping Foot National Laure Boulleau: “I imagine a sequence where Mbappé speaks of a blue match …”

ASSE does not have time. A few weeks after leaving Ligue 1, the Greens clearly display their ambitions as an immediate rise. And to achieve this, the Forez club intends to give itself the means, with an ambitious transfer window on all lines. A clear message sent to competition, confirmed in recent days by several significant movements: Irvin Cardona and Maxime Bernauer purchase options, signature of the Israeli environment Mahmoud Jaber, and advanced discussions to keep Pierre Ekwah. But it was especially on the defensive level that the Stéphanois leaders decided to hit a big blow. After Market footballAS Saint-Etienne concluded the arrival of Chico Lamba, a solid 22-year-old central defender, from Arouca (Portugal). The transfer exceeds 6 million euros, a substantial amount in a Ligue 2 hit hard by the economic crisis of French football.

A profile that checks all the boxes

International U21 with Portugal, Chico Lamba has established itself this season as one of the best young defenders of Liga Portugal. Trained at Sporting CP, where he rubbed shoulders with the Youth League before leaving for free in Arouca, the Grand (1m90) central comes out of a convincing exercise with 26 games, 1 goal and 1 decisive pass in the championship. He notably distinguished himself during the Euro Espoirs 2025, where his services won over several European clubs. The Stéphanoise management has been convincing despite a rough competition on the file. Attracted by the proposed project, Lamba has already settled down in Forez, where he spent his medical visit this week, according to Green people. The formalization of his transfer is expected shortly.

This defensive reinforcement does not happen by chance. With 77 goals conceded in 34 days of Ligue 1, Saint-Etienne collapsed where he was previously solid. La Défense, ex-Piler of the climb in 2023, became his Achilles heel. Several departures have already been activated: Yunis Abdelhamid (free), Anthony Briançon (Pau), or Pierre Cornud, returned to Haifa. In this context, the signing of a young defender with high potential responds to a strategic emergency. While a number of Ligue 2 clubs are struggling to invest, an exception is an exception. The club wants to bet big this summer, without necessarily having to sell beforehand. And if other recruits are expected in the coming weeks, the Chico Lamba file is already testifying to an ambitious turn taken by the Board Stéphanois.