Premier League Transfers: 10 Ligue 1 Players England Needs

Big names, young talent and pure skill were all on show in Ligue 1 last season, as Lyon pushed PSG all the way as the Parisians won their 3rd successive title. Undoubtedly, the top players in the France's top division over the past 12 months have caught the attention of Premier League scouts and managers the country over. Of course, Arsene Wenger was the first boss to make a concentrated effort to bring across a host of Francophiles to his Arsenal side in the late 90s, with Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Robert Pires (and more), all beginning their careers in France's top flight and later becoming Premier League legends. Nowadays however, Ligue 1 seems to be a place for all Premier League sides to sign some top talent on the cheap deal, hoping they will blossom into top talent in English football, where they are genuinely less expensive than homegrown prospects. Newcastle United have enjoyed particular success with this model in recent seasons with the likes of Yohan Cabaye joining for a reported £4.3 million in 2011 before being sold for over 4 times that value at £19 million less than 3 years later (source - BBC News) and Moussa Sissoko, who signed from Toulouse for just over £2 million, now being linked with a move away in this transfer window for as much as £16 million. With other examples across Europe such as Real Madrid pair Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane coming through Ligue 1 and proving they're worth the reasonable transfer fees, France's top flight looks like somewhere top clubs will continue to go. The following ten players could fit the ball for such a transfer this summer;