Pierre Lees-Melou
 Lees-Melou playing for Norwich City in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pierre Lees-Melou[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 25 May 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Langon, France | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Brest | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–2003 | Pierre Monsoise | ||
| 2003–2009 | Bordeaux | ||
| 2009–2010 | Langon | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2012 | Langon | 2 | (0) |
| 2012 | Mérignac-Arlac | ||
| 2013–2015 | Lège-Cap-Ferret | 50 | (13) |
| 2015–2017 | Dijon | 48 | (9) |
| 2017–2021 | Nice | 119 | (16) |
| 2021–2022 | Norwich City | 33 | (1) |
| 2022– | Brest | 61 | (9) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:55, 28 June 2024 (UTC) | |||
Pierre Lees-Melou (born 25 May 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Ligue 1 club Brest.
Career
[edit]Dijon
[edit]Born in Langon, Gironde, Lees-Melou started his career with Lège-Cap-Ferret in the Championnat de France Amateur 2 before sealing a move to Dijon in 2015. He played 16 games (split equally between starts and substitute appearances) as they earned promotion from Ligue 2 in his first season, while also playing in the fifth division with the reserve team. He scored his first two professional goals in April in wins over Clermont and Paris FC, and assisted the opening goal against Ajaccio that earned promotion on the final day.[2]
In the 2016–17 Ligue 1, Lees-Melou scored 7 goals in 32 games as the team survived in 16th place. On 27 August, he came off the bench to score the final goal of a 4–2 comeback win at home to Lyon.[2]
Nice
[edit]In June 2017, Lees-Melou signed a four-year deal with Nice, worth around €5 million.[3] He made his debut on 26 July, starting in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, a 1–1 home draw with Ajax.[4] After being eliminated in the play-offs by Napoli, the team competed in the UEFA Europa League, and he played all but one game in a run to the last 32.[2]
In September 2020, having played over 100 games for Nice, Lees-Melou's contract was extended for one year.[5] His four season-stay ended with 140 games and 18 goals.[2]
Norwich City
[edit]On 13 July 2021, Lees-Melou signed a three-year deal with Norwich City for a fee of under £6 million, ahead of the team's return to the Premier League.[6] He scored his first goal the following 10 April, opening a 2–0 home win over relegation rivals Burnley; after the game, striker Teemu Pukki said that he would be crucial for the rest of the season.[7]
Brest
[edit]On 23 July 2022, Lees-Melou signed for Ligue 1 side Brest on a three-year contract with an option for a further year. Norwich City received a reported €2.3 million transfer fee and a 10% sell-on clause.[8] In November 2023, he extended his contract with Brest until June 2027.[9]
In February 2024, he was named Ligue 1 player of the month.[10] A month later, he was invited by French national coach Didier Deschamps for the friendly matches in March; however, he declined the call-up, stating that "the step is too high."[11] He was eventually named in the Team of the Year for the 2023–24 season, producing the highest number of possessions won in over 269 occasions.[12] By the end of that season, Brest secured a third-place finish in the league and first ever qualification to the UEFA Champions League.[13]
Career statistics
[edit]- As of match played 23 October 2024[14]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lège-Cap-Ferret | 2013–14 | CFA 2 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 3 | ||
| 2014–15 | CFA 2 | 26 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 10 | |||
| Total | 50 | 13 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 50 | 13 | ||||
| Dijon B | 2015–16 | CFA 2 | 7 | 2 | — | — | — | 7 | 2 | |||
| Dijon | 2015–16 | Ligue 2 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 18 | 2 | |
| 2016–17 | Ligue 1 | 32 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 34 | 7 | ||
| Total | 48 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 52 | 9 | |||
| Nice | 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11[c] | 0 | 47 | 5 |
| 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 26 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 29 | 6 | ||
| 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 29 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 33 | 5 | ||
| Total | 119 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 140 | 18 | ||
| Norwich City | 2021–22 | Premier League | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | |
| Brest | 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 32 | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 34 | 6 | ||
| 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 29 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 4 | |||
| 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[e] | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Total | 63 | 9 | 4 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 68 | 11 | |||
| Career total | 320 | 50 | 13 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 354 | 54 | ||
- ^ Includes Coupe de France, FA Cup
- ^ Includes Coupe de la Ligue, EFL Cup
- ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearance in UEFA Champions League
Honours
[edit]Individual
References
[edit]- ^ "2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d Freezer, David (13 July 2021). "PROFILE: City new boy went from non-league to Champions League". Pink Un. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "Mercato. Nice : Pierre Lees-Melou va s'engager 4 ans" [Transfer market. Nice: Pierre Lees-Melou will join for 4 years]. Ouest-France (in French). 15 June 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "Nice: Lees-Melou et Srarfi titulaires contre l'Ajax" [Nice: Lees-Melou and Srarfi starters against Ajax] (in French). beIN Sports. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ Bacquié, Maxime (18 September 2020). "Pierre Lees-Melou prolonge son contrat avec l'OGC Nice" [Pierre Lees-Melou extends his contract with OGC Nice] (in French). France Bleu. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ Bailey, Michael (13 July 2021). "Norwich sign Nice midfielder Pierre Lees-Melou". The Athletic. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ Mutch, Michael (13 April 2022). "Norwich City duo issue verdict on Pierre Lees-Melou after first goal in Burnley victory". Norfolk Live. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "Official | Brest sign Pierre Lees-Melou from Norwich". Get French Football News. 23 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
- ^ "Lees-Melou, Le Douaron et Del Castillo prolongent à Brest" (in French). L'Équipe. 17 November 2023.
- ^ "Pierre Lees-Melou (Brest) élu joueur du mois de février en Ligue 1". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ "Pierre Lees-Melou (Brest) estime que " la marche est trop haute " pour les Bleus" (in French). L'Équipe. 20 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Trophées UNFP : sept joueurs du PSG dans l'équipe type de la saison 2023-2024 en Ligue 1". L'Équipe (in French). 13 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ "Brest Clinch Automatic UCL Spot After Win Over Toulouse". Ligue 1. 19 May 2024.
- ^ "P. Lees Melou". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- ^ "Pierre Lees-Melou, joueur du mois de février de la Ligue 1 Uber Eats!" [Pierre Lees-Melou, Ligue 1 Uber Eats player of the month for February!] (in French). National Union of Professional Footballers. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
External links
[edit]
- Pierre Lees-Melou at foot-national.com
- Pierre Lees-Melou at Soccerway
- Pierre Lees-Melou – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)
- 1993 births
- Living people
- People from Langon, Gironde
- Footballers from Gironde
- French men's footballers
- Men's association football midfielders
- US Lège Cap Ferret players
- Dijon FCO players
- OGC Nice players
- Norwich City F.C. players
- Stade Brestois 29 players
- Ligue 2 players
- Ligue 1 players
- Premier League players
- French expatriate men's footballers
- French expatriate sportspeople in England
- Expatriate men's footballers in England
- 21st-century French sportsmen