After a terrible season, Lyon now look like the second-best team in Ligue 1

Rhetoric can be powerful but it also can be a double-edged sword, coming across as bluster if not properly backed up. Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas, who sold a controlling interest in the club to American businessman John Textor this summer, has never been one to mince his words. Having steered the club for 35 years, he has inevitably made the odd misstep, but their run of seven straight Ligue 1 titles in the 2000s and regular appearances in the knockout rounds of European competitions are firm evidence of his acumen.

On top of that, the club remains an incubator of top players. Their philosophy is to bring through youngsters who complement more experienced heads in the team, knowing that the young talents will move on to pastures greener and bring in funds for the club. Alexandre Lacazette and Corentin Tolisso are good recent examples. Lyon also pick up players from other academies and develop them into first-team regulars – the idea being to help Lyon on the pitch as well as financially – think Ferland Mendy, Bruno Guimarães and Tanguy Ndombele. Recently, though, Lyon sides have featured as few as two or three academy graduates – players such as Houssem Aouar, Maxence Caqueret and Anthony Lopes.

However, last season saw the emergence of centre-back Castello Lukeba and right-back Malo Gusto, two teenagers who became key players. Much was made when Aulas declared that there would be “a return to the club’s DNA” this summer after they finished eighth in the league last season – their worst performance since 1996-97.

Some saw Aulas’s statement as a way of assuaging doubts fans had about the sale of the club. Even though Aulas remains the president and a key shareholder, at 73, his storied tenure was surely entering its