Arthur Masuaku

The French born defender spent his youth career with a number of academies, he began his playing career at Lille OM.S. Fives in 2001, two years later he would join RC Lens and spend 5 years at their academy, in 2008 he moved again, this time to Valenciennes FC. After coming through the ranks at Valenciennes he would make his Ligue 1 debut in the opening game of the 2013-14 season against Toulouse. He would score his first competitive goal for the club in the Stade Vélodrome home to royalty of French football Olympique de Marseille. His time with Valenciennes would be short lived as Greek side Olympiacos signed him in the summer of 2014. He'd make 74 appearances for Olympiacos, scoring twice and providing 8 assists, including a goal in the UEFA Champions League against Spanish powerhouses Atlético Madrid, a match Olympiacos would go on to win 3-2. His performances attracted the attention of Europe's top clubs, generating interest from the likes of Roma, Juventus and Internazionale. In 2016 West Ham United would win the race for his signature, securing his services for a fee reported to be around £6.2 million. In the fourth round of the FA Cup against Wigan Athletic on 27 January 2018 Masuaku was sent off for spitting at an opposition player. Masuaku later apologised for his actions, stating the incident was "totally unacceptable and out of character." He received a six match ban for the offence. In the International stage the defender would go on to represent France in both U-18 and U-19 level but switched allegiances to DR Congo in June 2017, making his debut more than a year later in 2018.