PROFILE | Spared by injuries, Wesley Said is growing into a key player at table-topping Lens | OneFootball

Wesley Saïd has faced a problem ever since he first emerged from the Stade Rennais youth academy in 2013. Everyone who has coached or played with him will admit he’s immensely talented, but no one has ever been quite sure where to play him or how to get the best out of him consistently. A situation not helped by a career hampered by frequent and lengthy injury spells, one of whichs aw him miss the entirety of the 2020/21 campaign with an ACL tear. 

Last season at RC Lens, it was a familiar story. Head coach Will Still envisioned him as one of his starting strikers. A player to lead the line alongside club captain and legend Florian Sotoca. Saïd embraced the role initially, finding the back of the net in two of his first three games. However, the goals dried up, and an injury saw him miss eight games from late October. Once he returned in January, he was reduced to largely a bench role and scored only twice more. 

Only Édouard has more goals than Said for Lens

At the end of the season, Still would leave his role with Pierre Sage coming in as his replacement. Not many expected much would materially change for Saïd. However, under Sage, Saïd has blossomed into the player he had once threatened to become, and helped this unlikely Lens side sit top of the table over Christmas. Placed on the left of the front three, Saïd has scored six and assisted two. If not for a brace from Odsonne Édouard on the final round of matches in 2025, Saïd would have topped Lens’s goalscoring charts. Instead, he will have to settle (for now) as the second-best goal scorer. 

With just over half a season left to play, it feels highly likely that Saïd will be able to beat his season best record at Lens (7 goals in the 2023/24 campaign) and even his career best (9 goals at Dijon FCO in 2017/18). This will rely on Saïd remaining on the pitch, which has not always been a given. Injuries are often a case of bad luck, but Saïd is taking every precaution to avoid this, as Sage explained, “Here at our facility, he spends a lot of time in the gym to prevent any potential problems. He receives regular treatment to keep everything in top condition; he has everything he needs to be healthy and perform at his best.”

GFFN | Nick Hartland