Lens risk losing Adrien Thomasson and Malang Sarr | OneFootball

RC Lens have been Ligue 1’s surprise package this season, with the club well on its way to securing qualification to the UEFA Champions League. Despite a potential financial windfall from Europe’s most prestigious competition, Les Sang et Or are wary of repeating the mistakes of the past. 

In 2023, after they qualified for the Champions League, the club spent heavily both in the transfer market and on contract extensions. L’Équipe writes that between the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, the club’s overall wage bill increased by 30%. 

Since June 2024, austerity has been the driving principle behind Lens’s approach, and that looks to continue. L’Équipe writes that the club will risk losing two key players behind this season’s success, with Adrien Thomasson (32) and Malang Sarr’s (27) contracts expiring in June. 

Thomasson has reportedly been told that there isn’t the budget to offer him a contract extension on improved terms, while Sarr has been warned that any raise would be limited. The French outlet explains that with both players having exceptional seasons, an attractive offer elsewhere could prove challenging for Lens to compete with, as was the case with Wesley Saïd. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland