After a few seasons of mediocrity in the middle of the table, Real Sociedad is emerging as one of the best Spanish teams, able to mix it with the best in La Liga.
One of the reasons for their development was the form of Robin Le Normand. The French center-back has cemented his place in Sociedad’s starting XI and is starting to catch the attention of some of Europe’s heavy hitters.
Manchester United are rumored to be keeping an eye on the 24-year-old, so with a Premier League stint potentially on the cards, here’s everything you need to know about the talented defender.
By the age of 24, some players already have five or six years of high-level experience under their belt; The Normand is a relative recruit.
Having started with the French side of Brest, the defender plied his trade in the lower leagues until he was caught by Sociedad in 2016, and even then he was not named to the senior squad.
The Norman spent the better part of two seasons with the B team before finally being offered his La Liga debut in November 2018, meaning he was 22 by the time he finally made his top debut. range.
The Norman has garnered a lot of interest from across Europe, with Manchester United supposedly keeping an eye on the defender.
However, Sociedad is certainly in the driver’s seat if negotiations take place.
They tied the young defender to a contract for just four years last summer, which means the Basque side can basically demand what they want for the 24-year-old – if they don’t want to sell him, he won’t. there isn’t a lot of potential. suitors can do it.
Well we say there’s not much they can do… other than pay the release clause he’s got in his contract, of course.
€ 75million (£ 66.8million) and Sociedad are powerless to stop Le Normand from heading for the Anoeta Stadium exit gate, although that seems an incredibly high number to pay for a player who doesn’t ‘has only 43 La Liga appearances to its name.
If a team wooing the center-back chooses not to pay the release clause (which, let’s be honest, is quite plausible no matter how talented they are), Sociedad is unlikely to accept an offer for Le Normand.
As discussed, the center-back is tied for another three and a half years and the club are reluctant to part ways with a player who helped lay the groundwork for a tough side for at least a top-six spot. .
We’ve already established that Le Normand had to climb the ranks to get to where he is today, and that seems to have impacted his chances of representing the France team.
Although he has emerged as a real top-tier La Liga talent in recent seasons, the 24-year-old has yet to be called up by the French senior squad (although in truth that shouldn’t be probably not be too difficult). surprise given that Aymeric Laporte is still waiting for his first cap) but stranger still, he has not received any cap for any of the French youth teams.
If Manchester United are looking for a center-back who can launch attacks, then Le Normand is probably not the man for them.
That’s not to say that he’s a clown with the ball at his feet, and that he’s proven to be comfortable taking the ball and distributing it in midfield, but he’s probably coming under the group “unadorned central defender” rather than “silky, modern. -day defender ”.
The 24-year-old is strong in the air and doesn’t back down from a challenge, and he could prove to be a great partner for Harry Maguire should United choose to try to sign him.
