PROFILE | Hakon Arnar Haraldsson reaching the end of a cycle at Lille? | OneFootball

Last year was one of metamorphosis for Hákon Arnar Haraldsson in more ways than one. With a full season at Lille OSC already under his belt, the Iceland international blossomed into a creative threat, regularly showing the potential that had led the club to steal him away from FC Copenhagen in 2023. He also saw his role on the pitch change dramatically from his debut campaign in the north of France. 

Head coach Bruno Génésio diverted paths from his predecessor Paulo Fonseca, shifting Haraldsson away from the left wing and into a more central role predominantly as a no.10, but with the flexibility to play in multiple other positions, including a short stint in front of the defence as a more defence-minded midfielder, as well as a winger. 

“I don’t want to confine him to just one position,” Génésio explained. “I want Hákon to have that freedom, to not have any reservations when he thinks his best position isn’t as a No.10, but to drop a little deeper or out wide.” The result is that Haraldsson comes across as a leader on the pitch for Lille; there is a sense that he is constantly reading the opposition and adjusting his role to bring the best out in the team. 

Haraldsson on target to beat last season’s numbers

This flexibility has been carried into the new season, where Haraldsson has only gone from strength to strength, adjusting his position based on the juxtaposed profiles of Lille’s two strikers: the veteran target man, Olivier Giroud, or the more mobile Hamza Igamane. Already in this campaign, Haraldsson has scored six and assisted five in 22 games across all competitions, which puts him on course to beat his tally for last season, where he scored eight and assisted four in 38 matches. 

Lille’s transfer policy operates on buying cheap players with high ceilings for growth and then selling them once they’ve begun to hit their potential for profit, and it certainly feels as if time is running out for Les Dogues and their No.10. It would be surprising if his continued progress over the past three years didn’t result in interest over the summer. Especially when you consider that at 22 years of age, there is still the sense that more is to come from him. The only saving grace for the Lille faithful will be the hope that no one matches their asking price.

GFFN | Nick Hartland