Lens still looks like a good team, in the past 4 seasons, they finished 7th 3 times, which I do not think I have seen a team be 7th for that many frequent times lol, but finished second previous season which is amazing for them. When a team is managed properly, you can see how great they can become, which is the most important thing for these teams.
Yes, but the club's decline was quite significant. Previously, they were able to become runners up in the French League 1 and entered the UCL even though they lost in the group stage. However, last season, they even failed to survive to enter the UEFA Europa League. This 7th position is the same as their position in 2021-2022, but in terms of points earned, last year it was also much less, only 51 points, whereas in 2021-2022, they got 62 points.
And for this season, their purchases are still not experiencing very rapid progress. Yes, we really understand the financial conditions of small clubs there, it's definitely not easy to get good finances.
They just got 2 players that they bought, namely:
1. Johnner Chávez
A Left-Back who they bought from the Esporte Clube Bahia club
2. Herve Koffi
A Goalkeeper from R Charleroi SC
Source: RC Lens TransferWhere, neither of them are famous players. So, we can't expect much from this club, unless they can provide much more significant and consistent progress, so that they can take over at least some of the clubs above it in the future.