JOSE FONTE is playing the football of his life in France.
The Portuguese international joined Lille from Chinese side Dalian Yifang in August –a switch after the World Cup that has rekindled his career.
The 34-year-old exclusively revealed to SunSport the Ligue 1 side made him an offer he could not refuse.
Fonte said: “The Lille sporting director called me and said ‘Listen, I need someone with your profile, I need someone with experience, leadership skills because I have a very young squad with no experience’.
“I spoke to my national team colleagues who were playing in France at the time, Joao Moutinho, Anthony Lopez, I spoke to Eder who used to play here.
“They all said it was a great club, with great facilities, they won the league seven years with Eden Hazard – that was a great generation of players.
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“It made sense as Lille is an hour away from London where my wife and kids are.
“I’ve enjoyed it a lot here, I’ve never felt so confident and relaxed, I’m playing my best football.
After flirting with relegation last season, Lille are second in the League but are a gaping 13 points behind champions Paris Saint-Germain and the Portuguese defender would love to take challenge the moneybags outfit in an even fight.
Two late goals from Kylian Mbappe and Neymar were the difference in a 2-1 home defeat last month.
And Fonte insists their dominance cannot be good for French football.
He continued: “We would love to compete against them with the same weapons they have, but having said that, we are a squad that is very young, talented and people are starting to see we are a serious threat in the league.
“I don’t think it is fair because nobody can compete against that – PSG winning every single game cannot be good for the French League.
“It would be nice to have more teams competing for the title, but we also have to give them credit.
“But if you look from second down you see a very interesting league.
Fonte is in the perfect position to run the rule over the exciting forward Nicolas Pepe.
The 23-year-old Ivory Coast star is one of the hottest properties in Europe and has been linked with big money moves to Barcelona, Manchester City and Arsenal.
And the experienced defender is adamant his team-mate can grace any team on the planet.
He added: “Potentially he can play for any team in the world, without a doubt.
“He is that good, he has pace, unbelievable left foot, he can finish and now it’s only about his mind.
“If he keeps listening, wanting to improve and understands that he is only just starting his career, like Kylian Mbappe, he still has a lot to learn.
“You cannot let it get to your head, that the main thing but he has to keep doing the work he doesn’t want to do defensively.
“If you got to Manchester City, if you don’t work, you’re out of the team.
“And it is not a problem for Pep Guardiola who has another guy with the same quality as you, and they will keep winning.
“So if you want to be at City, Barcelona or another great team, you have to work hard.”
And do the young players listen and take on board the advice of experienced pros?
Fonte bluntly replied: “I’m 34, the oldest in the team, I play international football, I won the Euro’s and with all due respect, they have to listen.
Alan Pardew took Fonte to Southampton in 2010 after two years at Crystal Palace and was part of the club’s journey back to the big time.
With Mark Hughes sacked, Austrian Ralph Hasenhuttl has been asked to save the Saints from the drop and speaking to Fonte, you can see how much he loves the club and the pain he’s feeling watching their current struggles.
He added: “It hurts to see the struggles they are going through – It was almost eight seasons I was there, it was my home.
“They need to keep fighting, the last thing they need is to be in a relegation battle again.
“We fought so hard to be a top ten club, we finished even higher than that, to see them struggle now is disappointing.”
And after winning Euro 2016 with Portugal, Fonte felt it was time to take the next step in his career or be rewarded with a new deal at St Mary’s.
He continued: “A few offers came in that were financially far superior then what I was getting and we have to remember I arrived in the Premier League aged 28, when you are in the lower leagues you don’t make the same money as you get in the PL.
“It’s only natural, you need to take care of your family and think about the future, there were some good opportunities out there and you have to do what is best for you.
One of those opportunities was a move to Manchester United, something at such a late stage in his career he would have jumped at.
“Yes Manchester United were interested, I had my agent talking to me but nothing concrete came.
“When United come knocking it’s always nice to hear about it, my agent told me there was a possibility (to join Manchester United).
“Obviously I was anxious to hear more about it, but in the end, it didn’t happen for one reason or another.
“United had to sell players but they couldn’t sell them. It didn’t happen so I had to move on quickly.”
After eight years on the south coast, Fonte joined West Ham, but the switch felt like the right move but at the wrong time as the Hammers struggled to adapt to life in their new home in East London.
“It did not go how I wanted it to, unfortunately, the time I joined the club was not a good time.
“But what a club West Ham are, such a big club, the supporters are fantastic.
“There was a lot of problems and bad energy at the club when I joined, and in the end, things didn’t go as planned, not because I wasn’t trying.
“It’s frustrating to see a club as great as West Ham not really pushing for the top six, they have everything, they have the fans, the stadium, they have to be pushing for top 6 without a doubt.”
Fonte has one eye on management after hanging up his boots, he says he will take inspiration from the demanding approach from Mauricio Pochettino and the man-management skills of Ronald Koeman.
But the highest praise was saved for his current boss at Lille, Christophe Gaultier.
The defender is convinced the 52-year-old French coach is destined for the Premier League.
“He is the complete package, he’s a good coach, he knows how to deal with all the players, I’ve been very impressed with him.
“The training sessions are very good, when we train, he explains exactly what he wants from the session and what he wants from you.
“Premier League? 100 per cent, he has everything he’s a great manager.
https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/jose-fonte-is-loving-life-in-france-and-backs-prem-target-nicolas-pepe-to-reach-the-top/
News Pictures Jose Fonte is loving life in France and backs Prem target Nicolas Pepe to reach the top
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